Critical Survey: Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) and Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A. (NYSE:CPAC)

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) and Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A. (NYSE:CPAC) are both construction companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk and dividends.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Martin Marietta Materials and Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A.”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Martin Marietta Materials	$6.54 billion	5.18	$2.00 billion	$17.36	32.34
Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A.	$527.09 million	0.97	$53.00 million	$0.59	10.18

Martin Marietta Materials has higher revenue and earnings than Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A.. Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A. is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Martin Marietta Materials, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Martin Marietta Materials and Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A.’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Martin Marietta Materials	16.07%	12.01%	6.39%
Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A.	10.10%	15.87%	6.29%

Risk and Volatility

Martin Marietta Materials has a beta of 0.87, indicating that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A. has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Martin Marietta Materials pays an annual dividend of $3.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A. pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.3%. Martin Marietta Materials pays out 18.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A. pays out 84.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Martin Marietta Materials has increased its dividend for 9 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Martin Marietta Materials and Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A., as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Martin Marietta Materials	0	3	12	2	2.94
Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A.	1	1	0	0	1.50

Martin Marietta Materials presently has a consensus price target of $603.86, suggesting a potential upside of 7.57%. Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A. has a consensus price target of $6.20, suggesting a potential upside of 3.23%. Given Martin Marietta Materials’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Martin Marietta Materials is more favorable than Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A..

Institutional and Insider Ownership

95.0% of Martin Marietta Materials shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of Martin Marietta Materials shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A. shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Martin Marietta Materials beats Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A. on 16 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Martin Marietta Materials

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc., a natural resource-based building materials company, supplies aggregates and heavy-side building materials to the construction industry in the United States and internationally. It offers crushed stone, sand, and gravel products; ready mixed concrete and asphalt; paving products and services; and Portland and specialty cement for use in the infrastructure projects, and nonresidential and residential construction markets, as well as in the railroad, agricultural, utility, and environmental industries. The company also produces magnesia-based chemicals products; dolomitic lime primarily to customers for steel production and soil stabilization; and cement treated materials. Its chemical products are used in flame retardants, wastewater treatment, pulp and paper production, and other environmental applications. The company was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.

About Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A.

Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A., a cement company, produces, distributes, and sells cement and cement-related materials in Peru. It operates through three segments: Cement, Concrete, Mortar and Precast; Quicklime; and Sales of Construction Supplies. The company’s cement and concrete products are used in residential and commercial construction, and civil engineering; ready-mix concrete used in construction sites; concrete precast, such as paving units or paver stones for pedestrian walkways, as well as other bricks for partition walls and concrete precast for structural and non-structural uses; and cement-based products. It also produces and distributes quicklime for use in steel, food, fishing, and chemical industries. In addition, the company sells and distributes other construction materials manufactured by third parties, such as steel rebar, plastic pipes, and electrical wires. It offers its products directly to other retailers, private construction companies, and government entities through a network of independent retailers and hardware stores. The company was incorporated in 1949 and is headquartered in Lima, Peru. Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A. is a subsidiary of Inversiones ASPI S.A.