Fmr LLC Acquires 878,400 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Fmr LLC lifted its holdings in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 30.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,801,257 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 878,400 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned about 11.33% of Eagle Materials worth $1,093,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in EXP. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Eagle Materials by 132.7% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 114 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the first quarter valued at $42,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 10,750.0% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 217 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Eagle Materials in the third quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Eagle Materials by 23.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 471 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Eagle Materials stock opened at $305.93 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $295.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $259.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $10.26 billion, a PE ratio of 21.61 and a beta of 1.32. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 12 month low of $177.67 and a 12 month high of $321.93.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $4.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by ($0.44). Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 35.79% and a net margin of 21.32%. The business had revenue of $623.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $651.46 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.28 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 15.24 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is currently 7.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director George John Damiris sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.62, for a total transaction of $277,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,943 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,205,135.66. This trade represents a 11.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Haack sold 11,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.50, for a total value of $3,691,224.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 85,811 shares in the company, valued at $26,644,315.50. The trade was a 12.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,866 shares of company stock worth $5,482,931 over the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EXP has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $277.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $252.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Loop Capital downgraded Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday. Stephens lifted their price objective on Eagle Materials from $280.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Eagle Materials from $309.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $307.11.

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.