Martin Marietta Materials’ (MLM) Neutral Rating Reaffirmed at DA Davidson

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reiterated by analysts at DA Davidson in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $690.00 target price on the construction company’s stock. DA Davidson’s price objective points to a potential upside of 5.55% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $725.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group increased their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $705.00 to $723.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $670.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $754.00 to $758.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $668.67.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

NYSE:MLM opened at $653.71 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $623.99 and its 200 day moving average is $610.92. The firm has a market cap of $39.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.86 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.97. Martin Marietta Materials has a 52-week low of $441.95 and a 52-week high of $668.83.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The construction company reported $5.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.62 by ($0.65). The company had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 17.34% and a return on equity of 11.68%. Research analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MLM. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 31.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,340,677 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,284,938,000 after purchasing an additional 565,856 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the second quarter worth about $233,811,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 9.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,204,425 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,389,428,000 after purchasing an additional 192,637 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1,570.3% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 108,167 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $68,175,000 after purchasing an additional 115,524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP increased its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 748.5% during the 3rd quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP now owns 124,963 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $78,762,000 after buying an additional 110,236 shares in the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Martin Marietta Materials

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.