11:50 AM EDT, 05/01/2024 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

Our unchanged 12-month target of $672 values MLM at an EV/EBITDA of 16.5x our 2025 EBITDA estimate, above MLM's three-year average forward EV/EBITDA of 15.6x, which is warranted, in our view, by a strong fundamental outlook for secular demand growth in aggregates. We raise our 2024 EPS estimate by $0.44 to $21.99 and 2025's by $0.73 to $24.80. MLM posted Q1 adj. EPS of $1.77 vs. $1.96, $0.09 below consensus, driven by a top-line miss of $64 million, or 5%. Aggregates shipments during Q1 fell 12.3% Y/Y to 36.6 million tons, driven mostly by adverse weather in the East and Southwest Divisions, but also due to weaker demand in warehouse, office, and retail construction. The positive drivers in Q1 included favorable weather in the Central and West Divisions and a strong improvement in average selling price (ASP). Q1 ASP rose 12.2% Y/Y to $22.26 per ton. Despite a slow start to 2024, we forecast 2024 sales growth of around 6% and adj. EPS up 14%, with continued expansion of gross profit per ton in aggregates.