Citigroup Cuts Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Price Target to $297.00

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) had its price target trimmed by Citigroup from $311.00 to $297.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the construction company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $238.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $310.00 to $305.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Eagle Materials from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday. Stephens upped their target price on Eagle Materials from $250.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Eagle Materials from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $279.67.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of EXP stock opened at $238.27 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.49 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $258.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $229.07. Eagle Materials has a 1 year low of $145.03 and a 1 year high of $276.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 21st. The construction company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.48). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 21.14% and a return on equity of 37.31%. The company had revenue of $476.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $480.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials will post 15.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 7.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Eagle Materials by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,510,906 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $418,116,000 after buying an additional 730,454 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 261.8% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 871,970 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $176,870,000 after acquiring an additional 630,964 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 271.7% during the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 666,874 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $111,048,000 after acquiring an additional 487,454 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $88,925,000. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 133.0% in the fourth quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 662,628 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $134,407,000 after purchasing an additional 378,296 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Eagle Materials Company Profile

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, including Portland limestone 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, as well as well as containerboard and lightweight packaging grades; manufacture and sale of recycled paperboard to the gypsum wallboard industry and other paperboard converters; the sale of readymix concrete; and mining and sale of aggregates, such as crushed stone, sand, and gravel.