Brokerages Set Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) Target Price at $323.64

Shares of Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $323.6429.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VMC. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. B. Riley Financial initiated coverage on Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $345.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $317.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $327.00 target price on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th.

Vulcan Materials Stock Down 3.9%

Vulcan Materials stock opened at $305.61 on Monday. Vulcan Materials has a fifty-two week low of $215.08 and a fifty-two week high of $331.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $303.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $297.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.69.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.41). The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.56% and a net margin of 13.56%.Vulcan Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.17 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This is an increase from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Denson N. Franklin III sold 665 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $196,175.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,780. This represents a 7.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Thompson S. Baker II sold 7,135 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.81, for a total value of $2,146,279.35. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 8,937 shares of company stock valued at $2,687,784 in the last quarter. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VMC. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 84 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Company Profile

Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE: VMC) is a U.S.-based producer of construction materials that supplies the building and infrastructure markets. The company’s primary products include construction aggregates such as crushed stone, sand and gravel, as well as asphalt mixes and ready-mixed concrete. These materials are used in a wide range of projects including highways, commercial and residential construction, and public infrastructure.

Vulcan operates an integrated network of quarries, asphalt plants and concrete facilities to produce and deliver materials to contractors, municipalities and private developers.