Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Stock

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) had its price objective increased by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $579.00 to $589.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the construction company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 13.85% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MLM. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $620.00 to $530.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 9th. HSBC lowered their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $750.00 to $665.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Martin Marietta Materials to an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $642.60.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of MLM traded down $10.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $517.36. The company had a trading volume of 1,003,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 849,023. The stock has a market cap of $31.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $503.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $573.42. Martin Marietta Materials has a fifty-two week low of $464.92 and a fifty-two week high of $710.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The construction company reported $5.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.99 by ($0.52). Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 36.73% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.85 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 28.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials will post 16.30 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MLM. Aberdeen Group plc lifted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 1,735.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 448,545 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $215,216,000 after purchasing an additional 424,103 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 11.4% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 1,009 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 29.4% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,852 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $889,000 after buying an additional 421 shares during the period. Magnolia Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $4,414,000. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 12.4% during the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 3,670 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,761,000 after buying an additional 405 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 is a U.S.-based supplier of building materials used in construction and infrastructure projects. Its products include crushed stone, sand and gravel, cement, ready-mixed concrete and asphalt.

The company also produces specialty products through its magnesia-based business, including lime, chemicals and products used in industrial and environmental applications. Its construction materials operations serve markets across the United States.

Martin Marietta traces its roots to 1939 and has grown through acquisitions and expansion of its materials operations.