Bridges Investment Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,768 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $602,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,894 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,754,000 after acquiring an additional 4,130 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 261.8% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 871,970 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $176,870,000 after acquiring an additional 630,964 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $9,628,000. Mad River Investors acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,552,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 255,775 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $69,507,000 after acquiring an additional 4,947 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

EXP opened at $287.67 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.03 and a 1 year high of $293.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $251.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $247.08.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $608.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $622.06 million. Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 37.10% and a net margin of 21.65%. Eagle Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 15.9 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 7.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EXP. StockNews.com lowered Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Citigroup raised their target price on Eagle Materials from $252.00 to $311.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James downgraded Eagle Materials from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Eagle Materials from $270.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on Eagle Materials from $280.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $289.78.

Insider Activity at Eagle Materials

In related news, CFO Dale Craig Kesler sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.76, for a total value of $1,333,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 60,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,135,778.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Eric Cribbs sold 1,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.06, for a total value of $512,838.06. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,861,385.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Dale Craig Kesler sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.76, for a total value of $1,333,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 60,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,135,778.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,851 shares of company stock valued at $2,124,258 in the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Eagle Materials

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.