Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Buys 302 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 24.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,559 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $385,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 78.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,948 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $10,915,000 after purchasing an additional 16,645 shares in the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA increased its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 46.2% during the third quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 500,273 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $143,904,000 after purchasing an additional 158,171 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $920,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 11.8% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 27,265 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,843,000 after purchasing an additional 2,871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,041,000. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EXP. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $330.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup cut shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $334.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $292.40.

Insider Transactions at Eagle Materials

In other Eagle Materials news, Director Michael R. Nicolais purchased 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $257.36 per share, for a total transaction of $79,781.60. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $940,650.80. The trade was a 9.27 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Materials Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of EXP stock opened at $213.84 on Friday. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 12-month low of $205.44 and a 12-month high of $321.93. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $244.35 and its 200 day moving average is $268.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.27 and a beta of 1.37.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.97 by ($0.38). Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 20.91%. Research analysts expect that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.14%.

Eagle Materials 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.