Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Raised to Buy at UBS Group

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) was upgraded by stock analysts at UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a $318.00 price target on the construction company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $280.00. UBS Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 17.37% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on VMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Vulcan Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Vulcan Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Stephens set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vulcan Materials from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vulcan Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $302.91.

Vulcan Materials Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of VMC opened at $270.93 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $35.79 billion, a PE ratio of 39.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $244.71 and its 200-day moving average is $260.50. Vulcan Materials has a 12 month low of $215.08 and a 12 month high of $298.31.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.20. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 12.30%. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vulcan Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 149.4% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,416,000 after acquiring an additional 5,627 shares during the last quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $514,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp purchased a new position in Vulcan Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $249,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 64.9% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,910 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,035,000 after buying an additional 3,113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,599 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $926,000 after buying an additional 1,081 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

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.