Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (down from $280.00) on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Wall Street Zen raised Eagle Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Eagle Materials from $232.00 to $224.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price (down from $230.00) on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Eagle Materials from $251.00 to $241.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $228.36.

Eagle Materials Stock Up 2.1%

EXP stock opened at $186.64 on Monday. Eagle Materials has a 52-week low of $171.99 and a 52-week high of $243.64. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $213.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $219.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 4.27 and a quick ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.13 and a beta of 1.35.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.32 by ($0.10). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 18.70% and a return on equity of 28.96%. The firm had revenue of $555.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $556.41 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.59 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials will post 14.39 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.57%.

Institutional Trading of Eagle Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EXP. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,962 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $690,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 2,799 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $652,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec lifted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 1,426 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Eagle Materials by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 389 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Eagle Materials by 20.3% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

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.