Meritage Portfolio Management Boosts Holdings in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its stake in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,611 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials during the third quarter worth about $64,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Eagle Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $81,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Eagle Materials by 29.7% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 611 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $176,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Eagle Materials by 789.9% in the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 703 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $204,000. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

Shares of EXP opened at $255.18 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $261.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $270.51. Eagle Materials Inc. has a twelve month low of $211.44 and a twelve month high of $321.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.49 billion, a PE ratio of 18.23 and a beta of 1.37.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.97 by ($0.38). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 20.91% and a return on equity of 34.14%. Research analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.14%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 3,577 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.30, for a total transaction of $1,074,173.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $330,330. The trade was a 76.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael Haack sold 11,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.50, for a total value of $3,691,224.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 85,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,644,315.50. The trade was a 12.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on EXP shares. Citigroup cut shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $334.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $277.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Eagle Materials has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.80.

Eagle Materials Company Profile

Eagle Materials Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells heavy construction materials and light building materials in the United States. It operates in four segments: Cement, Concrete and Aggregates, Gypsum Wallboard, and Recycled Paperboard. The company engages in the mining of limestone for the manufacture, production, distribution, and sale of Portland cement, including Portland limestone cement; grinding and sale of slag; and mining of gypsum for the manufacture and sale of gypsum wallboards used to finish the interior walls and ceilings in residential, commercial, and industrial structures, as well as well as containerboard and lightweight packaging grades; manufacture and sale of recycled paperboard to the gypsum wallboard industry and other paperboard converters; the sale of readymix concrete; and mining and sale of aggregates, such as crushed stone, sand, and gravel.