Head to Head Survey: Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) & Its Peers

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) is one of 74 public companies in the “Construction Materials” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare Martin Marietta Materials to similar businesses based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Martin Marietta Materials and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Martin Marietta Materials	31.88%	7.96%	4.12%
Martin Marietta Materials Competitors	1.47%	7.94%	4.87%

Dividends

Martin Marietta Materials pays an annual dividend of $3.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Martin Marietta Materials pays out 8.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Construction Materials” companies pay a dividend yield of 178.8% and pay out 31.6% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Martin Marietta Materials has increased its dividend for 9 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Martin Marietta Materials and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Martin Marietta Materials	2	7	15	0	2.54
Martin Marietta Materials Competitors	437	2142	2935	87	2.48

Martin Marietta Materials presently has a consensus target price of $642.60, indicating a potential upside of 24.21%. As a group, “Construction Materials” companies have a potential upside of 490.87%. Given Martin Marietta Materials’ rivals higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Martin Marietta Materials has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

95.0% of Martin Marietta Materials shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 46.5% of shares of all “Construction Materials” companies are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Martin Marietta Materials shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.0% of shares of all “Construction Materials” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Martin Marietta Materials has a beta of 1.02, meaning that its stock price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Martin Marietta Materials’ rivals have a beta of 0.93, meaning that their average stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Martin Marietta Materials and its rivals top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Martin Marietta Materials	$6.15 billion	$1.14 billion	13.69
Martin Marietta Materials Competitors	$32.58 billion	$651.21 million	24.74

Martin Marietta Materials’ rivals have higher revenue, but lower earnings than Martin Marietta Materials. Martin Marietta Materials is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Martin Marietta Materials beats its rivals on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

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. The company also produces magnesia-based chemicals products; dolomitic lime primarily to customers for steel production and soil stabilization; and cement treated materials. Its chemical products are used in flame retardants, wastewater treatment, pulp and paper production, and other environmental applications. The company was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.