Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $38.12 Million in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 154,461 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $38,115,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.46% of Eagle Materials as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC grew its position in Eagle Materials by 30.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,801,257 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,093,432,000 after acquiring an additional 878,400 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Eagle Materials by 60.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,735,133 shares of the construction company's stock worth $499,111,000 after acquiring an additional 652,836 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Eagle Materials by 3.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 707,607 shares of the construction company's stock worth $203,585,000 after acquiring an additional 23,911 shares in the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA grew its position in Eagle Materials by 46.2% in the third quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 500,273 shares of the construction company's stock worth $143,904,000 after acquiring an additional 158,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in Eagle Materials by 2.7% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 349,756 shares of the construction company's stock worth $100,607,000 after acquiring an additional 9,216 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Eagle Materials Stock Performance

NYSE:EXP traded up $6.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $213.74. 346,936 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 305,410. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.27 and a beta of 1.37. Eagle Materials Inc. has a twelve month low of $205.44 and a twelve month high of $321.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $240.88 and a 200 day moving average of $267.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.97 by ($0.38). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 20.91% and a return on equity of 34.14%. On average, analysts forecast that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Eagle Materials's dividend payout ratio is 7.14%.

Insider Activity

In other Eagle Materials news, Director Michael R. Nicolais acquired 310 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $257.36 per share, for a total transaction of $79,781.60. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,655 shares in the company, valued at $940,650.80. This represents a 9.27 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $334.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a "hold" rating and a $242.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Eagle Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $292.40.

About Eagle Materials

Eagle Materials Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells heavy construction materials and light building materials in the United States. It operates in four segments: Cement, Concrete and Aggregates, Gypsum Wallboard, and Recycled Paperboard. The company engages in the mining of limestone for the manufacture, production, distribution, and sale of Portland cement, including Portland limestone cement; grinding and sale of slag; and mining of gypsum for the manufacture and sale of gypsum wallboards used to finish the interior walls and ceilings in residential, commercial, and industrial structures, as well as well as containerboard and lightweight packaging grades; manufacture and sale of recycled paperboard to the gypsum wallboard industry and other paperboard converters; the sale of readymix concrete; and mining and sale of aggregates, such as crushed stone, sand, and gravel.