Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Raised to “Overweight” at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) was upgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage presently has a $285.00 price target on the construction company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $290.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 20.58% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $287.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $325.00 to $301.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $298.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $302.67.

Vulcan Materials Trading Up 0.5 %

VMC opened at $236.36 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.23 billion, a PE ratio of 34.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $257.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $260.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 2.02. Vulcan Materials has a 12-month low of $215.08 and a 12-month high of $298.31.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 12.83%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vulcan Materials

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VMC. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Vulcan Materials by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,320,570 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,332,431,000 after buying an additional 884,580 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its position in Vulcan Materials by 78.9% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 2,170 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $543,000 after buying an additional 957 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Vulcan Materials by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,546 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Vulcan Materials by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $659,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its position in Vulcan Materials by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 19,447 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,870,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

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.