Norges Bank Invests $90.15 Million in Eagle Materials Inc $EXP

Norges Bank acquired a new position in Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 436,166 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,147,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Eagle Materials by 743.8% in the third quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 34,317 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,997,000 after buying an additional 30,250 shares during the last quarter. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Eagle Materials by 1,671.4% in the fourth quarter. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. now owns 12,400 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,563,000 after buying an additional 11,700 shares during the last quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC acquired a new position in Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,321,000. Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Eagle Materials in the third quarter valued at about $1,976,000. Finally, Bastion Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Eagle Materials by 62.6% in the third quarter. Bastion Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,649 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,437,000 after buying an additional 10,640 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eagle Materials Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of EXP opened at $212.48 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 1.37. Eagle Materials Inc has a 1 year low of $171.99 and a 1 year high of $243.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 3.66. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $202.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $211.14.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 19th. The construction company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $479.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $451.99 million. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 18.36% and a return on equity of 28.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Eagle Materials Inc will post 13.02 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 Monday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on EXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Eagle Materials from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $240.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $224.00 to $217.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $224.30.

Eagle Materials Company 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.