Markel Group Inc. Acquires 5,750 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc $EXP

Markel Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) by 63.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,750 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 5,750 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $3,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EXP. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in Eagle Materials by 36.0% in the 2nd quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 830,284 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $167,809,000 after purchasing an additional 219,627 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Eagle Materials by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 734,541 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $153,607,000 after buying an additional 28,559 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Eagle Materials by 57.2% in the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 611,745 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $123,640,000 after acquiring an additional 222,537 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 80.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 521,276 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $105,356,000 after acquiring an additional 233,153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Eagle Materials in the second quarter worth $87,626,000. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Eagle Materials

In other Eagle Materials news, Director David E. Rush acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $208.08 per share, for a total transaction of $208,080.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 4,173 shares in the company, valued at approximately $868,317.84. This trade represents a 31.52% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

Shares of EXP opened at $221.73 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.36 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $219.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $224.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 2.72. Eagle Materials Inc has a fifty-two week low of $191.91 and a fifty-two week high of $265.42.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The construction company reported $4.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.12). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 19.41% and a return on equity of 30.13%. The company had revenue of $638.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $635.55 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Eagle Materials Inc will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $233.00 to $232.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $245.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $246.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 target price (down previously from $280.00) on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $226.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Eagle Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $235.20.

Eagle Materials 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.