Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Short Interest Down 13.4% in February

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,870,000 shares, a decrease of 13.4% from the January 31st total of 2,160,000 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 740,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vulcan Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Vulcan Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $811,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 149.4% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,416,000 after purchasing an additional 5,627 shares during the last quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Vulcan Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $514,000. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Vulcan Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,719,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 284.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,650 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $11,104,000 after purchasing an additional 33,051 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Vulcan Materials stock opened at $221.47 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $261.37 and a 200-day moving average of $261.23. Vulcan Materials has a 1-year low of $218.71 and a 1-year high of $298.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $29.26 billion, a PE ratio of 32.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 28.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on VMC shares. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $287.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $298.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $303.08.

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.