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

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For those looking to find strong Construction stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Martin Marietta (MLM - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Martin Marietta is a member of the Construction sector. This group includes 100 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #1. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

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).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MLM's full-year earnings has moved 7.6% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, MLM has moved about 35.6% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Construction companies have returned an average of 33.4%. As we can see, Martin Marietta is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

One other Construction stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Meritage Homes (MTH - Free Report) . The stock is up 58.3% year-to-date.

In Meritage Homes' case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 17.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Martin Marietta belongs to the Building Products - Concrete and Aggregates industry, a group that includes 10 individual stocks and currently sits at #6 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 38.5% so far this year, so MLM is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.

In contrast, Meritage Homes falls under the Building Products - Home Builders industry. Currently, this industry has 19 stocks and is ranked #21. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +54.4%.

Investors interested in the Construction sector may want to keep a close eye on Martin Marietta and Meritage Homes as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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