Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE: VMC)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reiterated by Zacks in a note issued to investors on Tuesday. They currently have a $34.00 target price on the stock.
Zacks’ analyst wrote, “Vulcan Materials posted a loss of $0.42 per share in the first quarter of 2012, narrower than a loss of $0.62 per share in the prior year and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $0.44. Improved top line and strong gross margins helped reduce the loss in the quarter. We are encouraged by the company’s better-than-forecast results, in particular the impressive performance at the Aggregates segment which is slowly gaining momentum. We also like the company’s strong market standing, steady volume growth and expanded cost initiatives. We believe these attributes will place the company well in time of an overall market recovery. However, the private sector is still a laggard though public construction spending remains stable. This combined with rising costs of energy and other raw materials as well as the company’s high debt load keeps us on the sidelines. At the end, we maintain our Neutral recommendation on the stock and set a target price of $34.00. “
Vulcan Materials Company traded up 1.35% on Tuesday, hitting $33.01. Vulcan Materials Company has a 52-week low of $25.06 and a 52-week high of $48.09. The company’s market cap is $4.271 billion.
Vulcan Materials Company last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 26th. The company reported ($0.42) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the analysts’ consensus estimate of ($0.43) by $0.01. Vulcan Materials Company’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Vulcan Materials Company will post $0.15 earnings per share next quarter.
VMC has been the subject of a number of other recent research reports. Analysts at KeyBanc (NYSE: KEY) upgraded shares of Vulcan Materials Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note to investors on Monday, May 21st. Analysts at RBC Capital (NYSE: RY) upgraded shares of Vulcan Materials Company from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note to investors on Thursday, May 10th.
Vulcan Materials Company (Vulcan) is a producer of construction aggregates, primarily crushed stone, sand and gravel.
