Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 328,847 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,842 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.99% of Eagle Materials worth $81,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EXP. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 53.0% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 205 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter worth $81,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 569 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 676 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter worth $170,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael R. Nicolais bought 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $257.36 per share, for a total transaction of $79,781.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,655 shares in the company, valued at $940,650.80. This trade represents a 9.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on EXP shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $330.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $242.00 target price for the company. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $292.40.

Eagle Materials Stock Up 1.2 %

EXP stock opened at $216.21 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.20 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 2.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $243.74 and its 200 day moving average is $268.75. Eagle Materials Inc. has a one year low of $205.44 and a one year high of $321.93.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.97 by ($0.38). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 20.91% and a return on equity of 34.14%. On average, research analysts forecast that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.14%.

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.