Skylands Capital LLC Sells 7,140 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc $EXP

Skylands Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) by 15.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,615 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 7,140 shares during the period. Eagle Materials accounts for about 1.3% of Skylands Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Skylands Capital LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Eagle Materials worth $9,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted 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 valued at $119,179,000 after purchasing an additional 65,072 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 486.7% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 14,252 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,047,000 after acquiring an additional 11,823 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Eagle Materials by 61.1% during the third 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 lifted its position in Eagle Materials by 212.9% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 7,610 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,538,000 after purchasing an additional 5,178 shares during the period. Finally, John G Ullman & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 23.2% during the 2nd quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 15,775 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,188,000 after acquiring an additional 2,975 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EXP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded Eagle Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Eagle Materials from $251.00 to $241.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $226.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $246.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $231.90.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Eagle Materials stock opened at $230.15 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.23 billion, a PE ratio of 17.42 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $221.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $224.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 4.27. Eagle Materials Inc has a 52 week low of $191.91 and a 52 week high of $258.86.

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

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.57%.

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.