Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) Shares Acquired by Whittier Trust Co.

Whittier Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 71,938 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 2,601 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $17,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Eagle Materials by 30.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,801,257 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,093,432,000 after acquiring an additional 878,400 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Eagle Materials by 60.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,735,133 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $499,111,000 after acquiring an additional 652,836 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Eagle Materials by 3.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 707,607 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $203,585,000 after acquiring an additional 23,911 shares in the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA raised its holdings in Eagle Materials by 46.2% in the third quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 500,273 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $143,904,000 after acquiring an additional 158,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in Eagle Materials by 2.7% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 349,756 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $100,607,000 after acquiring an additional 9,216 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

Shares of EXP opened at $218.39 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $7.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.60 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $239.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $266.45. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 1 year low of $205.44 and a 1 year high of $321.93.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 Inc. will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors 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 is presently 7.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael R. Nicolais bought 310 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $257.36 per share, for a total transaction of $79,781.60. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $940,650.80. This trade represents a 9.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EXP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $334.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $242.00 price objective for the company. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $286.40.

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.