Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) shares hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $188.76 and last traded at $189.73, with a volume of 68059 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $196.79.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on EXP shares. Wall Street Zen raised Eagle Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $251.00 to $241.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Eagle Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.36.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $222.61 and its 200-day moving average is $223.93. The company has a current ratio of 4.27, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49 and a beta of 1.35.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.32 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $555.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $556.41 million. Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 28.96% and a net margin of 18.70%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.59 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Eagle Materials Inc will post 14.39 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is 7.57%.

Institutional Trading of Eagle Materials

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of EXP. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its stake in Eagle Materials by 266.7% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 130.9% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 127 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the third quarter worth $30,000. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.