Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $224.30.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EXP. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Eagle Materials from $240.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Eagle Materials from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stephens cut their target price on Eagle Materials from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Eagle Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

Shares of EXP stock opened at $233.76 on Friday. Eagle Materials has a 12-month low of $171.99 and a 12-month high of $245.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.82 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $211.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 3.66 and a quick ratio of 2.09.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 19th. The construction company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $479.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $451.99 million. Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 28.27% and a net margin of 18.36%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th 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 of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 1,671.4% in the 4th quarter. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. now owns 12,400 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,563,000 after acquiring an additional 11,700 shares in the last quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC acquired a new stake in Eagle Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,321,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Eagle Materials by 743.8% during the third quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 34,317 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,997,000 after acquiring an additional 30,250 shares during the last quarter. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $103,778,000. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 15.3% in the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 99,319 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $23,145,000 after buying an additional 13,147 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.