FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - The building materials manufacturer Heidelberg Materials benefited on the stock market on Tuesday from an upgrade by Barclays. The Heidelberg company was up 1.3 percent in the morning, putting it at the top of the German Dax share index. At its peak, the share price had even risen by a good 2.4 percent. Since the beginning of the year, the shares have now risen in value by 7.4 percent.

On Tuesday, the British investment bank identified buying opportunities for investors in a structurally improved market environment for building materials stocks. Analyst Tom Zhang upgraded Heidelberger from "Underweight" to "Overweight" and raised the target price from 70 to 106 euros.

The improved pricing power of European building materials manufacturers should continue and margins have further room for improvement in view of falling energy costs, Zhang wrote in an industry study published on Tuesday. The relative valuation, operational strength and geographical positioning also speak in favor of Heidelberg Materials./lfi/tih/jha/