Eagle Materials Inc $EXP Shares Sold by Creative Planning

Creative Planning lowered its position in shares of Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) by 6.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,879 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 657 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $1,997,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Eagle Materials by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,140,621 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $475,068,000 after purchasing an additional 339,089 shares during the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA raised its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 42.5% in the first quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 909,633 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $201,875,000 after buying an additional 271,410 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 57.2% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 611,745 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $123,640,000 after buying an additional 222,537 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in Eagle Materials by 198.3% during the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 306,990 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $62,046,000 after acquiring an additional 204,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Eagle Materials by 193.4% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 288,123 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $63,944,000 after acquiring an additional 189,909 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $246.00 target price on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $226.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Zacks Research lowered Eagle Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Eagle Materials from $261.00 to $251.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Eagle Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $243.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David E. Rush purchased 1,000 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $208.08 per share, with a total value of $208,080.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 4,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $868,317.84. The trade was a 31.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of Eagle Materials stock opened at $219.52 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16 and a beta of 1.31. Eagle Materials Inc has a fifty-two week low of $191.91 and a fifty-two week high of $313.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $223.44 and a 200 day moving average of $220.84.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The construction company reported $4.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.12). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 19.81% and a return on equity of 31.21%. The business had revenue of $638.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $635.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.31 EPS. Eagle Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Eagle Materials Inc will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 12th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is 7.38%.

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.