Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Has $2.11 Million Stake in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its position in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,700 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $2,109,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of EXP. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Eagle Materials by 39.7% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,537 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 2,993 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,894 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,754,000 after purchasing an additional 4,130 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 261.8% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 871,970 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $176,870,000 after purchasing an additional 630,964 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials during the first quarter worth approximately $9,628,000. Finally, Mad River Investors purchased a new position in Eagle Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,552,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $252.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Stephens boosted their target price on Eagle Materials from $280.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Eagle Materials from $300.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. StockNews.com cut Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $270.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $289.78.

Insider Transactions at Eagle Materials

In other news, insider Eric Cribbs sold 1,851 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.06, for a total value of $512,838.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,861,385.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Eagle Materials news, CFO Dale Craig Kesler sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.76, for a total value of $1,333,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 60,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,135,778.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric Cribbs sold 1,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.06, for a total value of $512,838.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,861,385.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 4.4 %

NYSE:EXP opened at $265.84 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $234.19 and its 200-day moving average is $245.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.03 and a 12 month high of $279.69. The firm has a market cap of $9.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.52 and a beta of 1.32.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $608.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $622.06 million. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 21.65% and a return on equity of 37.10%. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.55 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 15.95 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.34%.

Eagle Materials 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, 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.