Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $279.40.

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $280.00 to $245.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. 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 research report on Thursday, January 30th.

Insider Transactions at Eagle Materials

In other news, Director Michael R. Nicolais bought 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $257.36 per share, for a total transaction of $79,781.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $940,650.80. This represents a 9.27 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Eagle Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $241,000. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 60.0% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 2,293 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $660,000 after acquiring an additional 860 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials during the third quarter worth about $206,000. Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the third quarter worth about $713,000. Finally, Atom Investors LP purchased a new position in Eagle Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $468,000. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 3.3 %

EXP opened at $234.98 on Thursday. Eagle Materials has a twelve month low of $205.44 and a twelve month high of $321.93. The company has a fifty day moving average of $234.66 and a 200-day moving average of $264.67. The stock has a market cap of $7.82 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released its 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 return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 20.91%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Eagle Materials 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.14%.

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.