Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $289.78.

Several brokerages have weighed in on EXP. Stephens boosted their price target on Eagle Materials from $280.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Eagle Materials from $270.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $252.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th.

Eagle Materials Stock Down 1.5 %

EXP opened at $287.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 2.45. The company has a market cap of $9.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12 and a beta of 1.32. Eagle Materials has a one year low of $145.03 and a one year high of $293.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $251.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $247.08.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $608.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $622.06 million. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 21.65% and a return on equity of 37.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.55 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials will post 15.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.34%.

Insider Transactions at Eagle Materials

In related news, CFO Dale Craig Kesler sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.76, for a total transaction of $1,333,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 60,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,135,778.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Eagle Materials news, CFO Dale Craig Kesler sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.76, for a total value of $1,333,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 60,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,135,778.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director George John Damiris sold 1,000 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.62, for a total transaction of $277,620.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,943 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,205,135.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,851 shares of company stock valued at $2,124,258 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eagle Materials

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC grew its stake in Eagle Materials by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 957,818 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $194,284,000 after purchasing an additional 63,636 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 5.5% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 919,714 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $249,932,000 after buying an additional 47,744 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Eagle Materials by 25.2% in the second quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 805,257 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $175,111,000 after acquiring an additional 162,049 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Eagle Materials by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 716,585 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $145,356,000 after acquiring an additional 14,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Eagle Materials by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 595,276 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $129,449,000 after acquiring an additional 28,003 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Eagle Materials

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.