Brokerages Set Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) Price Target at $219.78

Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $218.3333.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on EXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $196.00 target price (down from $231.00) on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Eagle Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Citigroup cut shares of Eagle Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $220.00 to $207.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on Eagle Materials from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

EXP stock opened at $179.23 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $202.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $204.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 1.36. Eagle Materials has a fifty-two week low of $171.99 and a fifty-two week high of $245.53.

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

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 14th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 14th. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Tony Thompson sold 3,074 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.96, for a total transaction of $626,973.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,068,562.32. This trade represents a 23.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eagle Materials

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its stake in Eagle Materials by 266.7% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 389.3% in the fourth 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. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 19,300.0% during the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 194 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the first quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 1,242.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 282 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Materials Company Profile

Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE: EXP) is a U.S.-based manufacturer of essential building materials used in residential, commercial and infrastructure construction. The company produces and distributes cement, ready-mix concrete, crushed stone and sand, as well as gypsum wallboard.

Its cement business supplies materials for concrete production and construction projects, while its concrete and aggregates operations provide ready-mix concrete and construction aggregates. Through its American Gypsum operations, Eagle Materials manufactures gypsum wallboard used in interior walls and ceilings.

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Eagle Materials serves regional construction markets primarily across the United States, with operations concentrated in states including Texas, Colorado, Nevada and Oklahoma.