Is Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) Stock Outpacing Its Construction Peers This Year?

Zacks Equity Research
·2 min read

Investors interested in Construction stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? One simple way to answer this question is to take a look at the year-to-date performance of MLM and the rest of the Construction group's stocks.

Martin Marietta Materials is one of 98 individual stocks in the Construction sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #1 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

The Zacks Rank is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. MLM is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MLM's full-year earnings has moved 11.81% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

According to our latest data, MLM has moved about 21.39% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Construction companies have returned an average of 17.89%. This shows that Martin Marietta Materials is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Breaking things down more, MLM is a member of the Building Products - Concrete and Aggregates industry, which includes 11 individual companies and currently sits at #34 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 29.28% so far this year, meaning that MLM is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

MLM will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested in Construction stocks should continue to pay close attention to the company.


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