Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Short Interest Down 15.9% in June

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,330,000 shares, a drop of 15.9% from the May 31st total of 2,770,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 712,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VMC. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $263.00 to $322.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $298.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price objective (up previously from $245.00) on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.08.

Vulcan Materials Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of VMC stock traded up $0.92 during trading on Friday, reaching $248.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 988,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 750,945. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.81. The company has a market capitalization of $32.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $256.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $249.82. Vulcan Materials has a 1-year low of $190.51 and a 1-year high of $276.58.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The construction company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.11). Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.32% and a net margin of 11.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials will post 8.51 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is currently 26.86%.

Insider Activity at Vulcan Materials

In related news, President Thompson S. Baker II sold 8,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.95, for a total transaction of $2,347,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $354,835. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP David P. Clement sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.50, for a total value of $249,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $414,170. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Thompson S. Baker II sold 8,600 shares of Vulcan Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.95, for a total value of $2,347,370.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $354,835. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,210 shares of company stock valued at $4,653,520 in the last 90 days. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vulcan Materials

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 21,224 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,692 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 118.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 4,146 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,245 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 111.5% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,423 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,936,000 after purchasing an additional 7,603 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $519,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the first quarter worth approximately $2,888,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

About Vulcan Materials

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.