Moody’s lifts Martin Marietta to investment-grade

Moody's Investors Service said it upgraded Martin Marietta Materials, Inc.’s senior unsecured debt ratings to Baa3 from Ba1 and commercial paper rating to P-3 from Not Prime.

The outlook is stable.

Moody’s said the upgrade reflects continued improvement in Martin Marietta's financial ratios resulting from improved operating performance. The company's adjusted debt-to-EBITDA declined to 2.3 times for the year-end 2016 from 2.6 times at year-end 2015 and 3.3 times at year-end 2014.

Operating margin also improved over the same period, increasing to 18.5% from 15.1% and 13.2%, respectively.

Moody’s said the upgrade reflects its belief that Martin Marietta has the willingness and the ability to defend its investment-grade rating in a cyclical downturn.

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