New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 41,886 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,774,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,352,507 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,206,355,000 after acquiring an additional 90,157 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,062,201 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,559,380,000 after purchasing an additional 741,631 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,281,102 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,322,546,000 after buying an additional 65,163 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in Vulcan Materials by 2.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,660,931 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $916,807,000 after buying an additional 78,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vulcan Materials by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,311,585 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $826,644,000 after buying an additional 33,061 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Vulcan Materials Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:VMC opened at $238.05 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. Vulcan Materials has a 12-month low of $215.08 and a 12-month high of $298.31. The business has a 50 day moving average of $254.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $260.41. The company has a market capitalization of $31.45 billion, a PE ratio of 34.75, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.80.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.41. Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.49 dividend. This is a positive change from Vulcan Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VMC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup reduced their price target 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. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $298.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $269.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Vulcan Materials in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $287.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $302.67.

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.