At US$255, Is It Time To Put Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) On Your Watch List?
Let's talk about the popular Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC). The company's shares led the NYSE gainers with a relatively large price hike in the past couple of weeks. The company's trading levels have reached its high for the past year, following the recent bounce in the share price. As a large-cap stock with high coverage by analysts, you could assume any recent changes in the company’s outlook is already priced into the stock. But what if there is still an opportunity to buy? Today we will analyse the most recent data on Vulcan Materials’s outlook and valuation to see if the opportunity still exists.
See our latest analysis for Vulcan Materials
Is Vulcan Materials Still Cheap?
According to our price multiple model, where we compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average, the stock currently looks expensive. We’ve used the price-to-earnings ratio in this instance because there’s not enough visibility to forecast its cash flows. The stock’s ratio of 40.54x is currently well-above the industry average of 20.54x, meaning that it is trading at a more expensive price relative to its peers. Another thing to keep in mind is that Vulcan Materials’s share price is quite stable relative to the rest of the market, as indicated by its low beta. This means that if you believe the current share price should move towards the levels of its industry peers over time, a low beta could suggest it is not likely to reach that level anytime soon, and once it’s there, it may be hard for it to fall back down into an attractive buying range again.
Can we expect growth from Vulcan Materials?
Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. Vulcan Materials' earnings over the next few years are expected to increase by 71%, indicating a highly optimistic future ahead. This should lead to more robust cash flows, feeding into a higher share value.
What This Means For You
Are you a shareholder? VMC’s optimistic future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading above industry price multiples. However, this brings up another question – is now the right time to sell? If you believe VMC should trade below its current price, selling high and buying it back up again when its price falls towards the industry PE ratio can be profitable. But before you make this decision, take a look at whether its fundamentals have changed.
Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on VMC for a while, now may not be the best time to enter into the stock. The price has surpassed its industry peers, which means it is likely that there is no more upside from mispricing. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for VMC, which means it’s worth diving deeper into other factors in order to take advantage of the next price drop.
Keep in mind, when it comes to analysing a stock it's worth noting the risks involved. For example - Vulcan Materials has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.
If you are no longer interested in Vulcan Materials, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
