Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Upgraded at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research note published on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $285.00 price target on the construction company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $290.00.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $325.00 to $301.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Raymond James dropped their price target on Vulcan Materials from $298.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Vulcan Materials in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $287.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vulcan Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $302.67.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Shares of VMC stock opened at $241.38 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 1.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.24, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.80. Vulcan Materials has a one year low of $215.08 and a one year high of $298.31. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $257.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $260.50.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 12.30%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.61%.

Institutional Trading of Vulcan Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VMC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,352,507 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,206,355,000 after acquiring an additional 90,157 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,062,201 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,559,380,000 after purchasing an additional 741,631 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,281,102 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,322,546,000 after purchasing an additional 65,163 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,660,931 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $916,807,000 after purchasing an additional 78,271 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,348,418 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $859,171,000 after buying an additional 36,833 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by 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.