Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $595.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $515.00 to $640.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $657.00 to $622.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $653.08.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MLM opened at $516.67 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $570.99 and its 200-day moving average is $552.38. Martin Marietta Materials has a twelve month low of $482.01 and a twelve month high of $633.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.89.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.41 by ($0.50). The business had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 12.53% and a net margin of 30.47%. The company’s revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.94 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials will post 17.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 411.1% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1,300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 56 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the second quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the third quarter valued at about $49,000. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Company Profile

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc, 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.