Martin Marietta price target lowered to $560 from $580 at JPMorgan

JPMorgan lowered the firm’s price target on Martin Marietta to $560 from $580 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm reiterates a neutral view on the construction materials sector, “but with an increasingly bearish tilt.” JPMorgan’s thesis from a few months ago appears to be materializing and earnings are approaching their peak, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says softness in some end-use sectors, even if only expected in the short term, will likely result in weaker price increases for the rest of the year and complicate the outlook for next year.