Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Has $9.22 Million Position in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 45.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 37,349 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 11,643 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $9,216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 60.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,735,133 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $499,111,000 after purchasing an additional 652,836 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $93,672,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Eagle Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $38,115,000. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,846,000. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $22,552,000. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup downgraded Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $334.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Eagle Materials in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $242.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Eagle Materials from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $286.40.

Eagle Materials Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Eagle Materials stock opened at $221.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.39 billion, a PE ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 1.37. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $235.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $265.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 2.76. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.44 and a 52-week high of $321.93.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.59 EPS 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, analysts predict that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is 7.14%.

Insider Activity at Eagle Materials

In related news, Director Michael R. Nicolais purchased 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $257.36 per share, for a total transaction of $79,781.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,655 shares in the company, valued at $940,650.80. This trade represents a 9.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.