Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) Competitors

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

Which has more volatility & risk, AWI or MLM?

Armstrong World Industries has a beta of 1.46, meaning that its share price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Martin Marietta Materials has a beta of 0.94, meaning that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, AWI or MLM?

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
Armstrong World Industries	$1.45B	5.84	$264.90M	$6.76	28.86
Martin Marietta Materials	$6.69B	5.53	$2.00B	$18.03	34.00

Does the media prefer AWI or MLM?

In the previous week, Martin Marietta Materials had 10 more articles in the media than Armstrong World Industries. MarketBeat recorded 24 mentions for Martin Marietta Materials and 14 mentions for Armstrong World Industries. Martin Marietta Materials' average media sentiment score of 1.35 beat Armstrong World Industries' score of 1.17 indicating that Martin Marietta Materials is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Armstrong World Industries	8 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Martin Marietta Materials	19 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

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

98.9% of Armstrong World Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.0% of Martin Marietta Materials shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Armstrong World Industries shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Martin Marietta Materials shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is AWI or MLM 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
Armstrong World Industries	18.95%	39.80%	16.79%
Martin Marietta Materials	16.47%	11.88%	6.25%

Is AWI or MLM a better dividend stock?

Armstrong World Industries pays an annual dividend of $1.23 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Martin Marietta Materials pays an annual dividend of $3.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Armstrong World Industries pays out 18.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Martin Marietta Materials pays out 18.4% 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. Armstrong World Industries has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Martin Marietta Materials has raised its dividend for 9 consecutive years. Armstrong World Industries is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do analysts recommend AWI or MLM?

Armstrong World Industries presently has a consensus price target of $181.50, indicating a potential downside of 6.97%. Martin Marietta Materials has a consensus price target of $622.63, indicating a potential upside of 1.56%. Given Martin Marietta Materials' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Martin Marietta Materials is more favorable than Armstrong World Industries.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Armstrong World Industries	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Martin Marietta Materials	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	13 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.89

Summary

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