Are Construction Stocks Lagging Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) This Year?
The Construction group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Martin Marietta (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? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Construction sector should help us answer this question.
Martin Marietta is a member of our Construction group, which includes 97 different companies and currently sits at #2 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.
The Zacks Rank is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Martin Marietta is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MLM's full-year earnings has moved 7.8% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Based on the most recent data, MLM has returned 21.4% so far this year. At the same time, Construction stocks have gained an average of 14.5%. This means that Martin Marietta is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Vulcan Materials (VMC) is another Construction stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 16.1%.
For Vulcan Materials, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 5.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, Martin Marietta belongs to the Building Products - Concrete and Aggregates industry, a group that includes 8 individual companies and currently sits at #68 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 22.3% this year, meaning that MLM is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns. Vulcan Materials is also part of the same industry.
Martin Marietta and Vulcan Materials could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Construction stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (MLM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Vulcan Materials Company (VMC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
