Park Avenue Securities LLC Increases Stake in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 16.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,451 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $988,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,801,532 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $444,546,000 after acquiring an additional 66,399 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 722,995 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $178,450,000 after acquiring an additional 15,388 shares during the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA boosted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 638,223 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $157,488,000 after acquiring an additional 137,950 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 594,899 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $146,797,000 after acquiring an additional 55,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 592,069 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $146,099,000 after acquiring an additional 13,988 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $245.00 to $237.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stephens set a $255.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $242.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $279.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $254.44.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

EXP opened at $202.64 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $6.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50 day moving average is $218.18 and its 200 day moving average is $237.33. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 12-month low of $195.41 and a 12-month high of $321.93.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The construction company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $470.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $483.14 million. Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 20.91%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.24 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is 7.27%.

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.