Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) Competitors

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) and CRH (NYSE:CRH) are both large-cap construction companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, media sentiment, profitability, analyst recommendations, community ranking and risk.

Is MLM or CRH a better dividend stock?

Martin Marietta Materials pays an annual dividend of $3.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. CRH pays an annual dividend of $1.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Martin Marietta Materials pays out 9.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. CRH pays out 22.7% 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.

Does the media refer more to MLM or CRH?

In the previous week, Martin Marietta Materials had 19 more articles in the media than CRH. MarketBeat recorded 47 mentions for Martin Marietta Materials and 28 mentions for CRH. CRH's average media sentiment score of 1.29 beat Martin Marietta Materials' score of 0.90 indicating that CRH is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Martin Marietta Materials	22 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
CRH	23 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in MLM or CRH?

Martin Marietta Materials received 21 more outperform votes than CRH when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 63.77% of users gave Martin Marietta Materials an outperform vote while only 56.93% of users gave CRH an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Martin Marietta Materials	Outperform Votes 514 63.77%	Underperform Votes 292 36.23%
CRH	Outperform Votes 493 56.93%	Underperform Votes 373 43.07%

Is MLM or CRH more profitable?

Martin Marietta Materials has a net margin of 30.54% compared to CRH's net margin of 9.86%. CRH's return on equity of 16.35% beat Martin Marietta Materials' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Martin Marietta Materials	30.54%	12.11%	6.55%
CRH	9.86%	16.35%	7.25%

Do insiders & institutionals believe in MLM or CRH?

95.0% of Martin Marietta Materials shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 62.5% of CRH shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of Martin Marietta Materials shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of CRH shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has better earnings and valuation, MLM or CRH?

CRH has higher revenue and earnings than Martin Marietta Materials. Martin Marietta Materials is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CRH, 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	4.98	$2.00B	$32.33	16.60
CRH	$35.57B	1.87	$3.18B	$5.03	19.58

Which has more volatility & risk, MLM or CRH?

Martin Marietta Materials has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CRH has a beta of 1.3, meaning that its stock price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend MLM or CRH?

Martin Marietta Materials presently has a consensus price target of $603.23, indicating a potential upside of 12.42%. CRH has a consensus price target of $112.36, indicating a potential upside of 14.06%. Given CRH's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe CRH is more favorable than Martin Marietta Materials.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Martin Marietta Materials	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.94
CRH	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.09

Summary

Martin Marietta Materials beats CRH on 11 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.