Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Price Target Cut to $285.00 by Analysts at Loop Capital

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) had its price objective lowered by Loop Capital from $305.00 to $285.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on VMC. Stephens raised their target price on Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a neutral rating and issued a $270.00 target price (up previously from $245.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Wolfe Research lowered Vulcan Materials from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Vulcan Materials from $263.00 to $322.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $279.00.

Vulcan Materials Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:VMC opened at $243.61 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $256.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $250.28. The firm has a market cap of $32.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.61, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.74. Vulcan Materials has a 52-week low of $190.51 and a 52-week high of $276.58.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The construction company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.11). Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 12.32%. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials will post 8.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vulcan Materials news, SVP David P. Clement sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.50, for a total value of $249,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $414,170. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, President Thompson S. Baker II sold 6,610 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.64, for a total value of $1,802,150.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 4,784 shares in the company, valued at $1,304,309.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP David P. Clement sold 1,000 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.50, for a total value of $249,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $414,170. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,210 shares of company stock valued at $4,653,520 over the last ninety days. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vulcan Materials

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 5.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,005,692 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,368,273,000 after purchasing an additional 755,991 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 47.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,503,484 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $909,794,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447,700 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 1.9% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,494,455 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,226,627,000 after buying an additional 83,601 shares during the period. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials during the first quarter valued at $388,027,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 4.4% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,330,004 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $268,688,000 after buying an additional 55,992 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.