Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $304.89.

EXP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $330.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Loop Capital lowered shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $277.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

NYSE:EXP opened at $248.91 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $294.05 and its 200-day moving average is $264.42. The company has a market cap of $8.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.58 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 2.34. Eagle Materials has a 52-week low of $195.93 and a 52-week high of $321.93.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $4.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.75 by ($0.44). The business had revenue of $623.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $651.46 million. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 21.32% and a return on equity of 35.79%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.28 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials will post 15.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.06%.

Insider Activity

In other Eagle Materials news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 3,577 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.30, for a total value of $1,074,173.10. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $330,330. This trade represents a 76.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tony Thompson sold 1,401 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.00, for a total transaction of $439,914.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,148,568. This represents a 9.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,866 shares of company stock worth $5,205,311 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eagle Materials

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Eagle Materials by 78.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,948 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $10,915,000 after buying an additional 16,645 shares during the last quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 400.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 12,978 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,733,000 after purchasing an additional 10,384 shares during the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA raised its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 46.2% in the 3rd quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 500,273 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $143,904,000 after purchasing an additional 158,171 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Eagle Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $920,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Eagle Materials by 11.8% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 27,265 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,843,000 after purchasing an additional 2,871 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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, 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.