Putnam Investments LLC Acquires 13,669 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Putnam Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 24.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 69,572 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,669 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC owned about 0.19% of Eagle Materials worth $10,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EXP. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Point72 Middle East FZE bought a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 681.5% during the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Eagle Materials by 14,575.8% in the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,843 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 4,810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Eagle Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. 92.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EXP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Eagle Materials from $195.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Eagle Materials from $195.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday, July 14th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Eagle Materials from $140.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, May 22nd. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Eagle Materials from $160.00 to $181.00 in a report on Monday, May 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Eagle Materials from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.80.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

Eagle Materials stock opened at $173.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.27 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.77. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.98 and a 52 week high of $195.96.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The construction company reported $3.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.54 by $0.01. Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 40.68% and a net margin of 21.82%. The firm had revenue of $601.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $603.11 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 13.92 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 Monday, October 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eagle Materials

In other Eagle Materials news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.28, for a total value of $182,280.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,647,993.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.28, for a total transaction of $182,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,647,993.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Matt Newby sold 5,613 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $1,066,470.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,819 shares in the company, valued at $4,145,610. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,613 shares of company stock valued at $1,624,730 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

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; 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.