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

Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $263.50.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on EXP shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $244.00 to $311.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $238.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $170.00 to $240.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $200.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd.

Eagle Materials Stock Down 0.1 %

EXP stock opened at $253.13 on Thursday. Eagle Materials has a 12-month low of $143.44 and a 12-month high of $272.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.86 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a 50 day moving average of $255.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $213.67.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The construction company reported $3.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by $0.16. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 22.24% and a return on equity of 40.05%. The company had revenue of $558.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $537.23 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials will post 14.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is presently 7.06%.

Insider Activity at Eagle Materials

In related news, EVP Matt Newby sold 2,940 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total value of $738,381.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,479,841.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Eagle Materials news, Director David B. Powers sold 3,347 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.52, for a total value of $805,020.44. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $157,540.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Matt Newby sold 2,940 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total transaction of $738,381.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,819 shares in the company, valued at $5,479,841.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,444 shares of company stock worth $4,414,889. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eagle Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EXP. CWM LLC grew its position in Eagle Materials by 102.0% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 5,494 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $915,000 after acquiring an additional 995 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 24.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 3,172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 418 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. 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; 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.