Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) Competitors

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) and Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) are both large-cap construction companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends, earnings, media sentiment, institutional ownership and community ranking.

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, VMC or MLM?

Martin Marietta Materials has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Vulcan Materials. Martin Marietta Materials is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Vulcan 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
Vulcan Materials	$7.40B	4.70	$933.20M	$6.34	41.50
Martin Marietta Materials	$6.78B	4.81	$1.17B	$32.09	16.63

Which has more risk & volatility, VMC or MLM?

Vulcan Materials has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Martin Marietta Materials has a beta of 0.89, suggesting that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is VMC or MLM more profitable?

Martin Marietta Materials has a net margin of 30.47% compared to Vulcan Materials' net margin of 11.43%. Martin Marietta Materials' return on equity of 12.53% beat Vulcan Materials' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vulcan Materials	11.43%	11.88%	6.38%
Martin Marietta Materials	30.47%	12.53%	6.82%

Do analysts rate VMC or MLM?

Vulcan Materials presently has a consensus target price of $284.33, suggesting a potential upside of 8.06%. Martin Marietta Materials has a consensus target price of $653.08, suggesting a potential upside of 22.37%. Given Martin Marietta Materials' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Martin Marietta Materials is more favorable than Vulcan Materials.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vulcan Materials	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.69
Martin Marietta Materials	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	13 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.94

Does the media refer more to VMC or MLM?

In the previous week, Martin Marietta Materials had 4 more articles in the media than Vulcan Materials. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for Martin Marietta Materials and 4 mentions for Vulcan Materials. Vulcan Materials' average media sentiment score of 1.71 beat Martin Marietta Materials' score of 0.93 indicating that Vulcan Materials is being referred to more favorably in the media.

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

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of VMC or MLM?

90.4% of Vulcan Materials shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.0% of Martin Marietta Materials shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of Vulcan Materials shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Martin Marietta Materials shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in VMC or MLM?

Vulcan Materials received 122 more outperform votes than Martin Marietta Materials when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 65.79% of users gave Vulcan Materials an outperform vote while only 63.82% of users gave Martin Marietta Materials an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Vulcan Materials	Outperform Votes 623 65.79%	Underperform Votes 324 34.21%
Martin Marietta Materials	Outperform Votes 501 63.82%	Underperform Votes 284 36.18%

Is VMC or MLM a better dividend stock?

Vulcan Materials pays an annual dividend of $1.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Martin Marietta Materials pays an annual dividend of $3.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Vulcan Materials pays out 29.0% 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. Vulcan Materials has raised its dividend for 11 consecutive years. Vulcan Materials is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Martin Marietta Materials beats Vulcan Materials on 15 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.