Weiss Asset Management LP Takes Position in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC – Get Rating) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 37,225 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,871,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,535,907 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,670,246,000 after acquiring an additional 184,543 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,771,928 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,246,491,000 after acquiring an additional 479,356 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 41.0% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,520,048 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $500,199,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,903 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,725,282 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $387,263,000 after acquiring an additional 321,581 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,481,334 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $352,598,000 after acquiring an additional 102,353 shares during the period. 90.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vulcan Materials Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of Vulcan Materials stock opened at $161.02 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $179.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.01. Vulcan Materials has a 12-month low of $137.54 and a 12-month high of $197.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $21.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.36, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.76.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The construction company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.18). Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials will post 5.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 6th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VMC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Seaport Res Ptn reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Friday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $199.00 to $191.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Vulcan Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 8th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $210.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Friday, February 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vulcan Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.25.

Vulcan Materials Company Profile

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Vulcan Materials Co engages in the provision of basic materials and supply for the infrastructure and construction industries. It operates through the following business segments: Aggregates, Asphalt, Concrete, and Calcium. The Aggregates segment produces and sells asphalt mix and ready-mixed concrete primarily in its mid-Atlantic, Georgia, Southwestern, Tennessee, and Western markets.