William Blair Investment Management LLC Takes $129.76 Million Position in Eagle Materials Inc $EXP

William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 576,712 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $129,760,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 1.88% of Eagle Materials as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Eagle Materials by 266.7% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 389.3% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 137 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Eagle Materials by 102.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EXP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen raised Eagle Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research lowered Eagle Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Eagle Materials from $208.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Eagle Materials from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $222.56.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 2.1%

EXP opened at $207.15 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38 and a beta of 1.38. Eagle Materials Inc has a 12 month low of $171.99 and a 12 month high of $245.53. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $213.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $209.15. The company has a current ratio of 3.23, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by ($0.08). Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 26.87% and a net margin of 17.32%.The firm had revenue of $650.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.76 EPS. Eagle Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials Inc will post 12.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Investors of record on Monday, September 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.91%.

Eagle Materials 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.