Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) shares hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $521.88 and last traded at $523.7980, with a volume of 21504 shares. The stock had previously closed at $531.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on MLM. Wolfe Research set a $648.00 target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Monday, August 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $625.00 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $700.00 to $680.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Martin Marietta Materials from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $665.88.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $30.33 billion, a PE ratio of 12.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $558.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $588.02.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $5.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.24. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 36.73% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.84 dividend. This is a boost from Martin Marietta Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is 8.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Corient Private Wealth LP grew its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 5.7% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 110,486 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $63,718,000 after purchasing an additional 5,947 shares during the last quarter. Brown Financial Advisors raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Financial Advisors now owns 2,383 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,374,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 72,704.3% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 51,073,705 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,454,206,000 after purchasing an additional 51,003,553 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 42.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 643 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 756 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $437,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Company Profile

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc (NYSE: MLM) is a leading producer of aggregates and heavy building materials serving the construction and infrastructure markets. The company operates quarries, sand and gravel pits, and other extraction sites to supply crushed stone, sand and gravel, and a range of value‑added products for use in roads, bridges, commercial and residential construction, and other civil engineering projects.

In addition to its core aggregates business, Martin Marietta manufactures and sells asphalt, ready‑mixed concrete and related materials and services.