Short Interest in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Decreases By 13.4%

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,870,000 shares, a decrease of 13.4% from the January 31st total of 2,160,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 740,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VMC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $287.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $349.00 target price for the company. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $298.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Vulcan Materials from $325.00 to $301.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $303.08.

Vulcan Materials Stock Performance

Shares of VMC opened at $235.04 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $31.05 billion, a PE ratio of 34.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.80. Vulcan Materials has a 12 month low of $225.36 and a 12 month high of $298.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $262.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $261.38.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 last year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. This is a boost from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vulcan Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,352,507 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,206,355,000 after buying an additional 90,157 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,062,201 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,559,380,000 after acquiring an additional 741,631 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,281,102 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,322,546,000 after purchasing an additional 65,163 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Vulcan Materials by 2.2% during the third 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 lifted its position in Vulcan Materials by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,348,418 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $859,171,000 after purchasing an additional 36,833 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

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.