Captrust Financial Advisors Acquires 9,216 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP - Free Report) by 2.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 349,756 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,216 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors owned about 1.04% of Eagle Materials worth $100,607,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 481.5% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,315 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,808,000 after buying an additional 6,885 shares during the period. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in Eagle Materials by 400.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 12,978 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,733,000 after acquiring an additional 10,384 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Eagle Materials by 441.1% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 27,818 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $6,049,000 after acquiring an additional 22,677 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 94.8% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 32,772 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $8,906,000 after purchasing an additional 15,949 shares during the period. Finally, Baupost Group LLC MA lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 158,171 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on EXP shares. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $280.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Eagle Materials from $252.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Eagle Materials from $309.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $307.11.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

Shares of EXP stock traded up $2.99 during trading on Friday, reaching $308.92. The company had a trading volume of 117,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 303,193. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $295.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $259.97. Eagle Materials Inc. has a one year low of $178.42 and a one year high of $321.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $10.36 billion, a PE ratio of 21.82 and a beta of 1.32.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $4.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.75 by ($0.44). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 21.32% and a return on equity of 35.79%. The firm had revenue of $623.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $651.46 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.28 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 15.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Eagle Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 3,577 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.30, for a total transaction of $1,074,173.10. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $330,330. This trade represents a 76.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director George John Damiris sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.62, for a total value of $277,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,943 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,205,135.66. This trade represents a 11.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,866 shares of company stock valued at $5,482,931 in the last three months. Company 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.