Fisher Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Fisher Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,791 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $334,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Eagle Materials by 0.8% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 121,471 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,645,000 after purchasing an additional 948 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,753 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $513,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Leuthold Group LLC bought a new stake in Eagle Materials during the second quarter valued at $4,273,000. Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $600,000. Finally, WBI Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 37.3% during the second quarter. WBI Investments Inc. now owns 23,323 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,348,000 after purchasing an additional 6,340 shares during the last quarter. 92.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EXP. StockNews.com cut shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 20th. Raymond James cut their target price on Eagle Materials from $193.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 31st. Citigroup upped their target price on Eagle Materials from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 10th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Monday, August 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Eagle Materials from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eagle Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $197.50.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE EXP opened at $175.89 on Monday. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 1-year low of $128.54 and a 1-year high of $195.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a PE ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $165.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.06.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 26th. The construction company reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $622.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $636.00 million. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 22.17% and a return on equity of 40.45%. Eagle Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.72 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 12th. Investors of record on Friday, December 15th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 14th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eagle Materials

In other Eagle Materials news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.99, for a total transaction of $375,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,041 shares in the company, valued at $1,323,637.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.99, for a total value of $375,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,041 shares in the company, valued at $1,323,637.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Matt Newby sold 5,613 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $1,066,470.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,145,610. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

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; 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.