American Century Companies Inc. Buys 25,896 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP - Free Report) by 35.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,214 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 25,896 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.30% of Eagle Materials worth $24,235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 34.6% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 21,828 shares of the construction company's stock worth $6,279,000 after acquiring an additional 5,614 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 23.8% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,924 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,679 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in Eagle Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $241,000. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in Eagle Materials by 60.0% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 2,293 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $660,000 after buying an additional 860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $206,000. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Eagle Materials from $280.00 to $245.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup lowered shares of Eagle Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $334.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $242.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $279.40.

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Eagle Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EXP traded up $5.49 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $227.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 390,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 318,820. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $235.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $265.19. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $205.44 and a one year high of $321.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24 and a beta of 1.37.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.59 earnings per share 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, research analysts forecast that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Eagle Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eagle Materials

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

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.