Vulcan Materials’ (VMC) “Overweight” Rating Reiterated at Stephens

Stephens reissued their overweight rating on shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $325.00 price objective on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on VMC. Barclays raised their target price on Vulcan Materials from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $245.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Thursday, November 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $349.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Vulcan Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.08.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Shares of VMC opened at $257.13 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $275.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $257.99. Vulcan Materials has a 12 month low of $218.38 and a 12 month high of $298.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.81.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by ($0.12). Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 11.43%. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. Vulcan Materials’s quarterly revenue was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Vulcan Materials will post 7.16 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.02%.

Institutional Trading of Vulcan Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VMC. SouthState Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 669.2% during the 2nd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 100 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Concord Wealth Partners purchased a new position in Vulcan Materials during the third quarter worth $35,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its position in Vulcan Materials by 240.4% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 160 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vulcan Materials Company Profile

Vulcan Materials Company, together with its subsidiaries, produces and supplies construction aggregates primarily in the United States. It operates through four segments: Aggregates, Asphalt, Concrete, and Calcium. The company provides crushed stones, sand and gravel, sand, and other aggregates; and related products and services that are applied in construction and maintenance of highways, streets, and other public works, as well as in the construction of housing and commercial, industrial, and other nonresidential facilities.