Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Given Underweight Rating at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated their underweight rating on shares of Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $215.00 price objective on the construction company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $230.00.

Several other research firms also recently commented on EXP. Wall Street Zen downgraded Eagle Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $232.00 to $224.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Eagle Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $226.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.40.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

Shares of EXP opened at $234.97 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.79 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 4.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $221.88 and a 200 day moving average of $224.55. Eagle Materials has a twelve month low of $191.91 and a twelve month high of $258.86.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.32 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $555.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $556.41 million. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 18.70% and a return on equity of 28.96%. The business’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is presently 7.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Eagle Materials by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 511,372 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $119,179,000 after purchasing an additional 65,072 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 486.7% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 14,252 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,047,000 after buying an additional 11,823 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 61.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 500,474 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $116,630,000 after buying an additional 189,725 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 212.9% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 7,610 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,538,000 after buying an additional 5,178 shares during the period. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the second quarter valued at about $2,001,000. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Eagle Materials Company Profile

Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) is a Dallas, Texas–based manufacturer of building materials serving construction and heavy industry markets across the United States. The company’s primary products include portland and masonry cements, gypsum wallboard, lightweight aggregate, paperboard packaging, and roofing granules. These product lines support a wide range of end uses—from residential and commercial buildings to infrastructure projects and industrial applications.

Since its spin-off from a major homebuilding company in 2004, Eagle Materials has grown through targeted facility expansions and strategic acquisitions.