New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Invests $10.77 Million in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 41,886 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,774,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VMC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials in the 4th quarter worth $380,369,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 884,580 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 28,529.4% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 523,631 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $134,694,000 after purchasing an additional 521,802 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $74,760,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Vulcan Materials by 125.0% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 335,984 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $86,425,000 after buying an additional 186,641 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Vulcan Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $287.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Vulcan Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $302.67.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

NYSE VMC opened at $238.05 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $31.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $254.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $260.41. Vulcan Materials has a fifty-two week low of $215.08 and a fifty-two week high of $298.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 1.83.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 12.83%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. This is a boost from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is presently 28.61%.

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.