Avanza Fonder AB Makes New Investment in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 12,317 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,168,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VMC. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 27,803 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,914,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new position in shares of Vulcan Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $244,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 10,491 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,609,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 10,392 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,584,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Vulcan Materials by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 246,823 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $61,463,000 after purchasing an additional 17,507 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vulcan Materials Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE VMC opened at $270.28 on Friday. Vulcan Materials has a fifty-two week low of $219.73 and a fifty-two week high of $298.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 2.86. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $272.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $258.76. The stock has a market cap of $35.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.83.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.34 by ($0.12). Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 11.43%. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $298.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup reduced their price target on Vulcan Materials from $325.00 to $301.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays raised their price target on Vulcan Materials from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Vulcan Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of Vulcan Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vulcan Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $301.18.

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.