Let's talk about the popular Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC). The company's shares saw a double-digit share price rise of over 10% in the past couple of months on the NYSE. The company is now trading at yearly-high levels following the recent surge in its 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? Let's take a look at Vulcan Materials's outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if the opportunity still exists.

What Is Vulcan Materials Worth?

Vulcan Materials is currently expensive based on our price multiple model, where we look at the company's price-to-earnings ratio in comparison to the industry average. 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 35.38x is currently well-above the industry average of 20.31x, meaning that it is trading at a more expensive price relative to its peers. Furthermore, Vulcan Materials's share price also seems relatively stable compared to the rest of the market, as indicated by its low beta. If you believe the share price should eventually reach levels around its industry peers, a low beta could suggest it is unlikely to rapidly do so anytime soon, and once it's there, it may be hard to fall back down into an attractive buying range.

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. With profit expected to grow by 61% over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for Vulcan Materials. It looks like higher cash flow is on the cards for the stock, which should feed into a higher share valuation.

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. At this current price, shareholders may be asking a different question – should I 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 tabs on VMC for some time, 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 optimistic prospect is encouraging for VMC, which means it's worth diving deeper into other factors in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

Diving deeper into the forecasts for Vulcan Materials mentioned earlier will help you understand how analysts view the stock going forward. Luckily, you can check out what analysts are forecasting by clicking here.

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.