DA Davidson Upgrades Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) to Strong-Buy

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) was upgraded by equities research analysts at DA Davidson to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Oppenheimer began coverage on Vulcan Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vulcan Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $328.64.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VMC opened at $274.05 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $288.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $286.97. The stock has a market cap of $35.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.06. Vulcan Materials has a twelve month low of $252.35 and a twelve month high of $331.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.13. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 13.75% and a return on equity of 13.05%. The business had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vulcan Materials

In other news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.10, for a total transaction of $570,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 6,716 shares in the company, valued at $1,914,731.60. This trade represents a 22.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VMC. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Vulcan Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 71.7% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 103 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.