Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Raised to “Hold” at DA Davidson

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) was upgraded by analysts at DA Davidson to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

EXP has been the topic of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Eagle Materials from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Eagle Materials from $208.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Eagle Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $223.67.

Eagle Materials Stock Down 2.3%

EXP stock opened at $199.56 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.23, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company’s 50 day moving average is $213.07 and its 200 day moving average is $208.83. The stock has a market cap of $6.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.78 and a beta of 1.38. Eagle Materials has a 1-year low of $171.99 and a 1-year high of $245.53.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eagle Materials

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in Eagle Materials in the second quarter worth $788,000. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 21,446.1% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 8,172,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,838,700,000 after buying an additional 8,134,072 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 46.0% in the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,731 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $614,000 after buying an additional 860 shares during the period. AlphaGrep UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Eagle Materials in the second quarter worth about $207,000. Finally, AXQ Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $367,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Materials Company 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.