Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Trims Stake in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,972 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 5,832 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.24% of Eagle Materials worth $16,424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meritage Portfolio Management increased its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 2,259 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 3,285 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $666,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 1.1% during the third quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC now owns 13,032 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,170,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,202 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on EXP shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Eagle Materials from $300.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Eagle Materials from $310.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Eagle Materials from $200.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $250.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eagle Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.67.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Eagle Materials stock opened at $215.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a 50-day moving average of $241.38 and a 200 day moving average of $236.26. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.03 and a 12 month high of $276.61.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 21st. The construction company reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.48). The company had revenue of $476.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $480.20 million. Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 37.31% and a net margin of 21.14%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 16.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is 7.34%.

Eagle Materials Company Profile

Eagle Materials Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells heavy construction materials and light building materials in the United States. It operates in four segments: Cement, Concrete and Aggregates, Gypsum Wallboard, and Recycled Paperboard. The company engages in the mining of limestone for the manufacture, production, distribution, and sale of Portland cement, including Portland limestone cement; grinding and sale of slag; and mining of gypsum for the manufacture and sale of gypsum wallboards used to finish the interior walls and ceilings in residential, commercial, and industrial structures, as well as well as containerboard and lightweight packaging grades; manufacture and sale of recycled paperboard to the gypsum wallboard industry and other paperboard converters; the sale of readymix concrete; and mining and sale of aggregates, such as crushed stone, sand, and gravel.