Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Stock Rating Raised to “Buy” at DA Davidson

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) was upgraded by research analysts at DA Davidson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $610.00 target price on the construction company’s stock. DA Davidson’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 23.94% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $585.00 to $579.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Wolfe Research set a $648.00 price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $715.00 to $662.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $643.82.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

Martin Marietta Materials stock opened at $492.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $508.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $557.58. Martin Marietta Materials has a 12 month low of $464.92 and a 12 month high of $710.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.56 billion, a PE ratio of 12.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.08.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $5.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 36.73% and a return on equity of 9.49%. Martin Marietta Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.43 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials will post 17.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MLM. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1,633.3% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 52 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 370.0% in the second quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 47 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 67.9% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 47 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. GK Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Company Profile

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc is a producer and supplier of construction materials used in infrastructure, commercial, residential, and industrial projects. The company’s principal products include crushed stone, sand, gravel, cement, ready-mixed concrete, asphalt, and related paving materials.

The company serves customers primarily across the United States, with operations concentrated in major markets experiencing demand for transportation infrastructure, building construction, and other development projects.