Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has $310.00 target price on the construction company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $330.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Eagle Materials from $277.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $304.89.

Eagle Materials Stock Down 1.8 %

EXP opened at $268.02 on Monday. Eagle Materials has a 12 month low of $195.93 and a 12 month high of $321.93. The company has a market cap of $8.99 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a 50 day moving average of $296.87 and a 200 day moving average of $263.66.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $4.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by ($0.44). Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 35.79% and a net margin of 21.32%. The company had revenue of $623.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $651.46 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.28 earnings per share. Eagle Materials’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Eagle Materials will post 15.24 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eagle Materials

In other Eagle Materials news, SVP Tony Thompson sold 1,401 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.00, for a total transaction of $439,914.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,148,568. This trade represents a 9.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 3,577 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.30, for a total transaction of $1,074,173.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $330,330. This trade represents a 76.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,866 shares of company stock worth $5,205,311 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eagle Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 481.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,315 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,808,000 after buying an additional 6,885 shares during the period. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 400.3% in the third quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 12,978 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,733,000 after acquiring an additional 10,384 shares in the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA lifted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 46.2% in the third quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 500,273 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $143,904,000 after buying an additional 158,171 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $920,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 11.8% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 27,265 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,843,000 after buying an additional 2,871 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.