Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) Sets New 12-Month Low - Here's Why

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $482.72 and last traded at $507.81, with a volume of 73634 shares. The stock had previously closed at $529.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MLM. StockNews.com cut Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. HSBC upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $690.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stephens reduced their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $639.43.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $534.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $548.93. The company has a market capitalization of $32.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.62 and a beta of 0.91.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.17. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 12.53% and a net margin of 30.47%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 17.57 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Martin Marietta Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MLM. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

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.