Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at UBS Group

UBS Group started coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) in a research note released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $349.00 target price on the construction company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on VMC. StockNews.com raised shares of Vulcan Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $297.00 to $292.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Vulcan Materials from $267.00 to $257.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Vulcan Materials from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.46.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VMC traded up $0.59 on Thursday, hitting $291.18. The stock had a trading volume of 185,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 844,787. Vulcan Materials has a twelve month low of $208.09 and a twelve month high of $298.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 2.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $249.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $252.67. The company has a market capitalization of $38.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.81.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last released its 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). The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vulcan Materials will post 7.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.02%.

Institutional Trading of Vulcan Materials

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in Vulcan Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $388,027,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Vulcan Materials by 19.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 884,580 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,005,692 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,368,273,000 after purchasing an additional 755,991 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,130,537 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $533,551,000 after purchasing an additional 330,433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 136.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 355,857 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $89,117,000 after purchasing an additional 205,260 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

About Vulcan Materials

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.