Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

EXP has been the subject of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $226.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Eagle Materials from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Eagle Materials from $251.00 to $241.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $231.90.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 4.6%

Shares of EXP stock opened at $229.68 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $220.63 and a 200-day moving average of $224.12. Eagle Materials has a 12-month low of $191.91 and a 12-month high of $262.81. The firm has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.39 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.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.32 by ($0.10). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 18.70% and a return on equity of 28.96%. The business had revenue of $555.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $556.41 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.59 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eagle Materials

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in Eagle Materials by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,019 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 15.1% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,772 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 19.4% in the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Eagle Materials by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,150 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 4.6% in the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 6,800 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,376,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.