Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Cut to “Equal Weight” at Stephens

Stephens lowered shares of Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $245.00 target price on the construction company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $246.00 target price on Eagle Materials in a report on Monday, October 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $261.00 to $251.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research raised shares of Eagle Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $233.00 to $232.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $235.20.

Eagle Materials Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Eagle Materials stock opened at $226.65 on Tuesday. Eagle Materials has a twelve month low of $191.91 and a twelve month high of $265.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company’s 50 day moving average is $218.89 and its 200 day moving average is $224.07. The company has a market cap of $7.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.73 and a beta of 1.36.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The construction company reported $4.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $638.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $635.55 million. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 19.41% and a return on equity of 30.13%. Eagle Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.31 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials will post 14.39 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.25 dividend. 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 7.38%.

Insider Activity at Eagle Materials

In other news, Director David E. Rush bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $208.08 per share, for a total transaction of $208,080.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 4,173 shares in the company, valued at $868,317.84. This represents a 31.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 1.5% in the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,962 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $690,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. 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 in 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 in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Eagle Materials by 15.8% in the 4th 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 raised its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 20.3% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is 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.