GW&K Investment Management LLC Sells 12,855 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc $EXP

GW&K Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 299,567 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 12,855 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned 0.95% of Eagle Materials worth $61,916,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Eagle Materials by 743.8% during the third quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 34,317 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,997,000 after buying an additional 30,250 shares during the last quarter. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Eagle Materials by 1,671.4% during the fourth quarter. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. now owns 12,400 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,563,000 after buying an additional 11,700 shares during the last quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC purchased a new stake in Eagle Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $1,321,000. Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Eagle Materials during the third quarter worth about $1,976,000. Finally, Bastion Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Eagle Materials by 62.6% during the third quarter. Bastion Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,649 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,437,000 after buying an additional 10,640 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EXP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Eagle Materials from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $240.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $224.30.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

EXP opened at $217.22 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 3.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $203.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $211.36. Eagle Materials Inc has a twelve month low of $171.99 and a twelve month high of $243.64.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 19th. The construction company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.32. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 18.36% and a return on equity of 28.27%. The firm had revenue of $479.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $451.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Eagle Materials Inc will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is presently 7.62%.

About Eagle Materials

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.