Insider Selling: Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) SVP Sells 3,074 Shares

Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) SVP Tony Thompson sold 3,074 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 10,142 shares in the company, valued at $2,068,562.32. This represents a 23.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE EXP traded up $1.58 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $200.45. 291,986 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 458,658. The company has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 1.38. Eagle Materials Inc has a 52-week low of $171.99 and a 52-week high of $245.53. The company has a current ratio of 3.23, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $213.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $208.83.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $650.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $620.35 million. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 17.32% and a return on equity of 26.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.76 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Eagle Materials Inc will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EXP has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Eagle Materials from $240.00 to $232.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 10th. DA Davidson began coverage on Eagle Materials in a research note on Monday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $220.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Eagle Materials from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $223.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eagle Materials

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EXP. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 5,116.3% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 25,612 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,852,000 after purchasing an additional 25,121 shares during the period. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in Eagle Materials by 1,671.4% during the 4th quarter. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. now owns 12,400 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,563,000 after purchasing an additional 11,700 shares in the last quarter. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $103,778,000. Redwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Eagle Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,080,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Eagle Materials by 2.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 627,427 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $118,846,000 after buying an additional 16,782 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

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.