Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) Receives $219.78 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $219.7778.

EXP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $208.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Monday, August 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $220.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research downgraded Eagle Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $196.00 price target (down from $231.00) on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Eagle Materials from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd.

Eagle Materials Stock Up 0.7%

EXP opened at $185.03 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63 and a beta of 1.36. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $204.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $205.53. Eagle Materials has a 52 week low of $171.99 and a 52 week high of $245.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $3.29 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $650.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $620.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.76 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials will post 12.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Investors of record on Monday, September 14th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 7.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eagle Materials

In other Eagle Materials news, SVP Tony Thompson sold 3,074 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.96, for a total value of $626,973.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,142 shares in the company, valued at $2,068,562.32. This trade represents a 23.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXP. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 266.7% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Eagle Materials by 389.3% during the fourth 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 102.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

About Eagle Materials

Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE: EXP) is a U.S.-based manufacturer of essential building materials used in residential, commercial and infrastructure construction. The company produces and distributes cement, ready-mix concrete, crushed stone and sand, as well as gypsum wallboard.

Its cement business supplies materials for concrete production and construction projects, while its concrete and aggregates operations provide ready-mix concrete and construction aggregates. Through its American Gypsum operations, Eagle Materials manufactures gypsum wallboard used in interior walls and ceilings.

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Eagle Materials serves regional construction markets primarily across the United States, with operations concentrated in states including Texas, Colorado, Nevada and Oklahoma.