Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Receives “Overweight” Rating from Stephens

Stephens reissued their overweight rating on shares of Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $310.00 price objective on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on EXP. Jefferies Financial Group cut Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $330.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup lowered Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $334.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Eagle Materials from $277.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.80.

Eagle Materials Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:EXP opened at $259.48 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $265.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $269.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 2.34. Eagle Materials has a 1-year low of $211.44 and a 1-year high of $321.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53 and a beta of 1.37.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.97 by ($0.38). Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 34.97% and a net margin of 20.91%. Equities analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials will post 15.11 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eagle Materials

In related news, SVP Tony Thompson sold 1,401 shares of the firm’s 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 3,577 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.30, for a total transaction of $1,074,173.10. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $330,330. This trade represents a 76.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,866 shares of company stock valued at $5,205,311 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eagle Materials

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 78.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,948 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $10,915,000 after acquiring an additional 16,645 shares during the period. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Eagle Materials by 400.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 12,978 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,733,000 after purchasing an additional 10,384 shares during the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA raised its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 46.2% during the third quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 500,273 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $143,904,000 after buying an additional 158,171 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the third quarter valued at about $920,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Eagle Materials by 11.8% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 27,265 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,843,000 after buying an additional 2,871 shares in 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.