Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Berenberg Bank set a $283.00 price objective on Vulcan Materials and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Raymond James Financial set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Vulcan Materials from $365.00 to $355.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.79.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of Vulcan Materials stock traded up $6.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $295.50. 1,492,960 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,127,913. The business has a 50-day moving average of $286.70 and a 200 day moving average of $291.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.34 billion, a PE ratio of 35.14, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.05. Vulcan Materials has a fifty-two week low of $252.35 and a fifty-two week high of $331.09.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The construction company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 13.81%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Vulcan Materials will post 9.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vulcan Materials

In related news, SVP David P. Clement sold 2,212 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.29, for a total transaction of $646,545.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,547,599.64. This represents a 20.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials in the second quarter valued at $25,000. NBT Bank N A NY bought a new stake in Vulcan Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 71.7% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 103 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. acquired a new stake in Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

About Vulcan Materials

Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE: VMC) is a U.S.-based producer of construction materials that supplies the building and infrastructure markets. The company’s primary products include construction aggregates such as crushed stone, sand and gravel, as well as asphalt mixes and ready-mixed concrete. These materials are used in a wide range of projects including highways, commercial and residential construction, and public infrastructure.

Vulcan operates an integrated network of quarries, asphalt plants and concrete facilities to produce and deliver materials to contractors, municipalities and private developers.