Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

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

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays raised their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $595.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Thursday, November 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $730.00 price objective on the stock. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $657.00 to $622.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $653.08.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 0.7 %

Martin Marietta Materials stock traded down $3.75 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $516.50. The stock had a trading volume of 267,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 443,312. The company has a market cap of $31.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $573.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $553.07. Martin Marietta Materials has a 52 week low of $479.67 and a 52 week high of $633.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials will post 17.58 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 411.1% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.