Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) Competitors

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) and Armstrong World Industries (NYSE:AWI) are both construction companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, media sentiment, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and dividends.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of MLM or AWI?

95.0% of Martin Marietta Materials shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.9% of Armstrong World Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of Martin Marietta Materials shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Armstrong World Industries shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is MLM or AWI a better dividend stock?

Martin Marietta Materials pays an annual dividend of $3.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Armstrong World Industries pays an annual dividend of $1.23 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Martin Marietta Materials pays out 18.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Armstrong World Industries pays out 18.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Martin Marietta Materials has increased its dividend for 9 consecutive years and Armstrong World Industries has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Armstrong World Industries is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Does the media favor MLM or AWI?

In the previous week, Martin Marietta Materials had 10 more articles in the media than Armstrong World Industries. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for Martin Marietta Materials and 5 mentions for Armstrong World Industries. Martin Marietta Materials' average media sentiment score of 1.43 beat Armstrong World Industries' score of 1.20 indicating that Martin Marietta Materials is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Martin Marietta Materials	13 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Armstrong World Industries	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts prefer MLM or AWI?

Martin Marietta Materials presently has a consensus price target of $622.63, indicating a potential downside of 2.37%. Armstrong World Industries has a consensus price target of $187.75, indicating a potential downside of 6.12%. Given Martin Marietta Materials' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Martin Marietta Materials is more favorable than Armstrong World Industries.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Martin Marietta Materials	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	14 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.90
Armstrong World Industries	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.56

Which has higher valuation & earnings, MLM or AWI?

Martin Marietta Materials has higher revenue and earnings than Armstrong World Industries. Armstrong World Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Martin Marietta Materials, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Martin Marietta Materials	$6.54B	5.88	$2.00B	$18.03	35.37
Armstrong World Industries	$1.45B	5.98	$264.90M	$6.76	29.58

Which has more volatility and risk, MLM or AWI?

Martin Marietta Materials has a beta of 1.01, indicating that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Armstrong World Industries has a beta of 1.45, indicating that its share price is 45% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is MLM or AWI more profitable?

Armstrong World Industries has a net margin of 18.95% compared to Martin Marietta Materials' net margin of 16.47%. Armstrong World Industries' return on equity of 39.80% beat Martin Marietta Materials' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Martin Marietta Materials	16.47%	11.88%	6.25%
Armstrong World Industries	18.95%	39.80%	16.79%

Summary

Martin Marietta Materials beats Armstrong World Industries on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.