Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold” Rating

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on MLM. Hsbc Global Res raised Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. HSBC raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $690.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $595.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $730.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $648.71.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MLM traded up $9.87 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $552.43. 460,039 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 370,081. The company has a market cap of $33.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $554.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $551.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 2.34. Martin Marietta Materials has a 1 year low of $490.05 and a 1 year high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.41 by ($0.50). The company had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 12.53% and a net margin of 30.47%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.94 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials will post 17.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 0.9% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,126 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 782 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 3.6% during the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 570 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 447 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.9% in the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 1,123 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

About Martin Marietta Materials

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc, a natural resource-based building materials company, supplies aggregates and heavy-side building materials to the construction industry in the United States and internationally. It offers crushed stone, sand, and gravel products; ready mixed concrete and asphalt; paving products and services; and Portland and specialty cement for use in the infrastructure projects, and nonresidential and residential construction markets, as well as in the railroad, agricultural, utility, and environmental industries.