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

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Investors interested in Construction stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Martin Marietta (MLM - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Construction peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Martin Marietta is one of 97 companies in the Construction group. The Construction group currently sits at #7 within 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).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MLM's full-year earnings has moved 2.8% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that MLM has returned about 42.2% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Construction group have gained about 41.7% on average. This shows that Martin Marietta is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Sterling Infrastructure (STRL - Free Report) is another Construction stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 123.8%.

Over the past three months, Sterling Infrastructure's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 2.2%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Martin Marietta is a member of the Building Products - Concrete and Aggregates industry, which includes 8 individual companies and currently sits at #196 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 39.9% so far this year, so MLM is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, Sterling Infrastructure belongs to the Engineering - R and D Services industry. This 21-stock industry is currently ranked #41. The industry has moved +27.3% year to date.

Investors with an interest in Construction stocks should continue to track Martin Marietta and Sterling Infrastructure. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.


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