Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $297.78.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on EXP shares. Citigroup upped their target price on Eagle Materials from $252.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Eagle Materials from $309.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Eagle Materials from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Raymond James cut Eagle Materials from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on Eagle Materials from $280.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Dale Craig Kesler sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 60,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,135,778.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Dale Craig Kesler sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 60,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,135,778.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Eric Cribbs sold 1,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.06, for a total transaction of $512,838.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,861,385.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,851 shares of company stock worth $2,124,258. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eagle Materials

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EXP. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,327 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,971,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,160 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Covea Finance increased its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Covea Finance now owns 11,200 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Asio Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,565,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 24.7% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 10,600 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,050,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of EXP stock opened at $297.40 on Thursday. 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 market cap of $10.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.84 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $265.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.13. Eagle Materials has a 1 year low of $145.03 and a 1 year high of $298.02.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $608.69 million during 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Eagle Materials will post 15.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is currently 7.34%.

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.