Rafferty Asset Management LLC Purchases 13,931 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc $EXP

Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) by 113.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 26,238 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,931 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $6,115,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Eagle Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $87,626,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Eagle Materials by 80.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 521,276 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $105,356,000 after acquiring an additional 233,153 shares during the last quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $167,809,000 after acquiring an additional 219,627 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Eagle Materials by 61.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 500,474 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $116,630,000 after purchasing an additional 189,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 56.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 227,869 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $46,047,000 after purchasing an additional 82,679 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on EXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target (down from $230.00) on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Monday, February 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Eagle Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $228.36.

Eagle Materials Stock Down 2.0%

EXP opened at $219.24 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.61. The company has a market capitalization of $6.89 billion, a PE ratio of 16.60 and a beta of 1.35. Eagle Materials Inc has a 1-year low of $191.91 and a 1-year high of $243.64. The company has a current ratio of 4.27, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.32 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $555.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Eagle Materials Inc will post 14.39 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is 7.57%.

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.