Cerity Partners LLC Buys New Holdings in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,138 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXP. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in Eagle Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Eagle Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Eagle Materials by 277.4% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 200 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the third quarter worth approximately $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of EXP stock opened at $258.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.22 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $255.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $215.82. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.03 and a 1 year high of $272.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Tony Thompson sold 638 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.07, for a total value of $149,974.66. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,383,362.51. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Eagle Materials news, SVP Tony Thompson sold 638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.07, for a total value of $149,974.66. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,383,362.51. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Matt Newby sold 2,940 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total value of $738,381.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,479,841.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,925 shares of company stock valued at $1,693,376. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Eagle Materials from $200.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $250.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $238.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $170.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Eagle Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $263.50.

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.