Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Raised to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from “sell” to “hold”, adding to a mixed but generally positive analyst backdrop for the stock.
• The company’s latest quarter beat expectations, with EPS of $1.93 versus $1.78 expected and revenue of $1.36 billion, up 17.2% year over year.
• Despite the upgrade, MLM traded around $563.57, below its 52-week high of $710.97; analysts currently have a Moderate Buy consensus with a target price of $681.53.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on MLM. Citigroup upped their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $731.00 to $737.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Berenberg Bank set a $556.00 price objective on Martin Marietta Materials and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $702.00 to $664.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $710.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $681.53.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of MLM stock opened at $563.57 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $33.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.10. Martin Marietta Materials has a fifty-two week low of $525.38 and a fifty-two week high of $710.97. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $578.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $612.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.15. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 38.67% and a return on equity of 10.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials will post 19.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Martin Marietta Materials

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 51.8% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,448,928 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,524,853,000 after acquiring an additional 836,120 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 0.9% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,399,779 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,412,702,000 after acquiring an additional 21,310 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,364 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $963,406,000 after purchasing an additional 10,743 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,367,016 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $851,188,000 after purchasing an additional 68,382 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 769,904 shares of the construction company's stock worth $479,389,000 after purchasing an additional 65,623 shares during the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Martin Marietta Materials Company Profile

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc NYSE: MLM is a leading producer of aggregates and heavy building materials serving the construction and infrastructure markets. The company operates quarries, sand and gravel pits, and other extraction sites to supply crushed stone, sand and gravel, and a range of value‑added products for use in roads, bridges, commercial and residential construction, and other civil engineering projects.

In addition to its core aggregates business, Martin Marietta manufactures and sells asphalt, ready‑mixed concrete and related materials and services.

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