Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Has $9.86 Million Stock Position in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 28.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,354 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,166 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned 0.13% of Eagle Materials worth $9,863,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of EXP. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 261.8% in 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. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $88,925,000. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Eagle Materials by 133.0% in the fourth quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 662,628 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $134,407,000 after purchasing an additional 378,296 shares during the period. Baupost Group LLC MA bought a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the first quarter worth $71,199,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 61.6% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 509,605 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $138,485,000 after buying an additional 194,342 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Dale Craig Kesler sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.76, for a total transaction of $1,333,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 60,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,135,778.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Eagle Materials news, CFO Dale Craig Kesler sold 5,000 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.76, for a total transaction of $1,333,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 60,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,135,778.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director George John Damiris sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.62, for a total transaction of $277,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,943 shares in the company, valued at $2,205,135.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,851 shares of company stock valued at $2,124,258 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EXP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stephens raised their price objective on Eagle Materials from $280.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James cut Eagle Materials from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Eagle Materials from $270.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $252.00 to $311.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $289.78.

Eagle Materials Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE EXP opened at $287.67 on Friday. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.03 and a 12 month high of $293.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $251.73 and a 200-day moving average of $247.08. The company has a market cap of $9.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12 and a beta of 1.32.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $608.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $622.06 million. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 21.65% and a return on equity of 37.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.55 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 15.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

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

Eagle Materials 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.