Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $232.00 to $207.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $188.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson set a $195.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Thursday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eagle Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $193.33.

Eagle Materials Stock Up 2.5%

NYSE EXP opened at $190.70 on Friday. Eagle Materials has a 12 month low of $160.02 and a 12 month high of $245.53. The company has a current ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.83 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $179.15 and its 200 day moving average is $201.62.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The construction company reported $3.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.82 by ($0.19). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 16.11% and a return on equity of 25.16%. The company had revenue of $652.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $633.08 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.23 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Eagle Materials will post 11.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 14th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is 8.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eagle Materials

In related news, SVP Tony Thompson sold 3,074 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.96, for a total transaction of $626,973.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,068,562.32. This represents a 23.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EXP. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Eagle Materials during the second quarter valued at $688,486,000. W1M Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $155,199,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 627,427 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $118,846,000 after acquiring an additional 16,782 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $129,760,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $66,255,000. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Eagle Materials

Eagle Materials Inc is a U.S.-based producer of building materials used in residential, commercial and infrastructure construction. Its products include cement, ready-mixed concrete, aggregates, gypsum wallboard and recycled paperboard.

The company operates through businesses focused on cement and concrete products, gypsum wallboard, and paperboard. Its gypsum operations also produce materials used in wallboard finishing, while its paperboard business makes recycled paperboard used in packaging and other applications.

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Eagle Materials serves construction and industrial markets across the United States.