Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,770,000 shares, an increase of 27.3% from the October 31st total of 1,390,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 946,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VMC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens decreased their price target on Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup dropped their target price 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. StockNews.com upgraded Vulcan Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $349.00 price objective on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vulcan Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.92.

Institutional Trading of Vulcan Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 62.1% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 30,226 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,247,000 after buying an additional 11,583 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Vulcan Materials in the first quarter valued at about $282,000. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Vulcan Materials during the first quarter worth about $519,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 111.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,423 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,936,000 after buying an additional 7,603 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 118.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 4,146 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 2,245 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VMC traded down $0.80 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $287.33. The company had a trading volume of 263,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 832,819. Vulcan Materials has a 12 month low of $210.85 and a 12 month high of $298.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.02. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $265.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $255.16. The firm has a market cap of $37.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.45, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.81.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.34 by ($0.12). Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 11.43%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Vulcan Materials will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is 29.02%.

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.