Eagle Materials (EXP) Competitors

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) and Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) are both construction companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, community ranking, earnings and profitability.

Does the media favor EXP or MLM?

In the previous week, Martin Marietta Materials had 12 more articles in the media than Eagle Materials. MarketBeat recorded 25 mentions for Martin Marietta Materials and 13 mentions for Eagle Materials. Martin Marietta Materials' average media sentiment score of 1.03 beat Eagle Materials' score of 0.57 indicating that Martin Marietta Materials is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Eagle Materials	6 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Martin Marietta Materials	14 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do insiders and institutionals believe in EXP or MLM?

96.1% of Eagle Materials shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.0% of Martin Marietta Materials shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of Eagle Materials shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Martin Marietta Materials shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is EXP or MLM more profitable?

Martin Marietta Materials has a net margin of 30.47% compared to Eagle Materials' net margin of 21.32%. Eagle Materials' return on equity of 35.79% beat Martin Marietta Materials' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Eagle Materials	21.32%	35.79%	16.18%
Martin Marietta Materials	30.47%	12.53%	6.82%

Which has more volatility & risk, EXP or MLM?

Eagle Materials has a beta of 1.33, indicating that its share price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Martin Marietta Materials has a beta of 0.89, indicating that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate EXP or MLM?

Eagle Materials currently has a consensus target price of $304.89, indicating a potential upside of 14.56%. Martin Marietta Materials has a consensus target price of $653.08, indicating a potential upside of 19.88%. Given Martin Marietta Materials' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Martin Marietta Materials is more favorable than Eagle Materials.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Eagle Materials	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.56
Martin Marietta Materials	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	13 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.94

Is EXP or MLM a better dividend stock?

Eagle Materials pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Martin Marietta Materials pays an annual dividend of $3.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Eagle Materials pays out 7.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Martin Marietta Materials pays out 9.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor EXP or MLM?

Martin Marietta Materials received 56 more outperform votes than Eagle Materials when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 64.21% of users gave Eagle Materials an outperform vote while only 63.82% of users gave Martin Marietta Materials an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Eagle Materials	Outperform Votes 445 64.21%	Underperform Votes 248 35.79%
Martin Marietta Materials	Outperform Votes 501 63.82%	Underperform Votes 284 36.18%

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, EXP or MLM?

Martin Marietta Materials has higher revenue and earnings than Eagle Materials. Martin Marietta Materials is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Eagle Materials, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Eagle Materials	$2.27B	3.94	$477.64M	$14.16	18.80
Martin Marietta Materials	$6.51B	5.11	$1.17B	$32.09	16.98

Summary

Martin Marietta Materials beats Eagle Materials on 13 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.