Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Upgraded at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Eagle Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Eagle Materials from $220.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price target on Eagle Materials from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $255.40.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

Eagle Materials stock opened at $228.17 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $231.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $221.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Eagle Materials has a 12-month low of $191.91 and a 12-month high of $321.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 1.31.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $3.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $634.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $611.52 million. Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 31.21% and a net margin of 19.81%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 7.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Materials

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXP. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Eagle Materials by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in Eagle Materials by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,451 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $988,000 after buying an additional 630 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Eagle Materials by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 819 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Eagle Materials by 163.5% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,515 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 940 shares during the period. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 10.6% in the first quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 92,178 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $20,457,000 after purchasing an additional 8,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.07% 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, 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.