Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Raised to Buy at DA Davidson

Key Points

• DA Davidson upgraded Martin Marietta Materials to “buy” from “neutral” and set a $610 price target, implying approximately 23.94% upside from the reported current price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with 13 buy ratings, six holds, and one sell; the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $643.82.
• Martin Marietta exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $5.00 in EPS versus $4.76 expected and $1.95 billion in revenue, up 21% year over year. Institutional investors own approximately 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at DA Davidson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $610.00 target price on the construction company's stock. DA Davidson's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 23.94% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on MLM. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $730.00 to $625.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings cut Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $715.00 to $662.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $643.82.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 4.5%

MLM stock opened at $492.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Martin Marietta Materials has a twelve month low of $464.92 and a twelve month high of $710.97. The business's 50-day moving average price is $508.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $557.58. The stock has a market cap of $29.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.09, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.08.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $5.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.24. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 36.73% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.43 EPS. Martin Marietta Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials will post 17.77 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 1,633.3% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 52 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 9.5% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the construction company's stock worth $818,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Nvwm LLC grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 4.9% during the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 1,806 shares of the construction company's stock worth $867,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 8.7% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,219 shares of the construction company's stock worth $585,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 429.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 2,320 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,882 shares during the period. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Martin Marietta Materials

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc is a producer and supplier of construction materials used in infrastructure, commercial, residential, and industrial projects. The company's principal products include crushed stone, sand, gravel, cement, ready-mixed concrete, asphalt, and related paving materials.

The company serves customers primarily across the United States, with operations concentrated in major markets experiencing demand for transportation infrastructure, building construction, and other development projects.

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