Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Stock Gets Downgrade from Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Martin Marietta Materials from “hold” to “strong sell,” though the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $642.65.
• The stock opened at $509.62, near its 52-week low of $464.92 and well below its 52-week high of $710.97. Several analysts recently reduced their price targets, despite maintaining generally positive ratings.
• Martin Marietta exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $5.00 in earnings per share versus the $4.76 consensus and $1.95 billion in revenue, up 21% year over year. Institutional investors continue to hold a substantial 95.04% of the company’s shares.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $660.00 to $640.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials to an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $715.00 to $662.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $664.00 to $639.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $642.65.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:MLM opened at $509.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $504.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $555.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.30, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.41. Martin Marietta Materials has a 1 year low of $464.92 and a 1 year high of $710.97.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $5.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 36.73%. Martin Marietta Materials's quarterly revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials will post 16.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MLM. NBT Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $434,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,405,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 74.4% during the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 872 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robbins Farley increased its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 12,425 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,962,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

About Martin Marietta Materials

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc is a supplier of construction materials serving the infrastructure, commercial, residential and industrial markets. The company's primary business is aggregates, including crushed stone, sand and gravel used in roads, bridges, buildings and other construction projects.

Martin Marietta also produces cement, ready-mixed concrete and asphalt products, and provides paving and related construction services in selected markets. Through its Magnesia Specialties business, the company manufactures magnesium-based and dolomitic lime products used in industrial, environmental and agricultural applications.

Headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, Martin Marietta Materials became an independent publicly traded company in 1993 following a spin-off from Martin Marietta Corporation.

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