Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the nine research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $301.44.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup cut shares of Eagle Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $334.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $277.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Eagle Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $330.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered shares of Eagle Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 25th.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

EXP stock traded up $2.39 on Friday, hitting $256.82. The company had a trading volume of 302,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 258,642. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $8.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.14 and a beta of 1.37. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $274.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $267.15. Eagle Materials has a 12-month low of $198.89 and a 12-month high of $321.93.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $4.31 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $623.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $651.46 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.28 EPS. Eagle Materials's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eagle Materials will post 15.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. Eagle Materials's payout ratio is currently 7.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eagle Materials news, SVP Tony Thompson sold 1,401 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.00, for a total transaction of $439,914.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,148,568. This represents a 9.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael Haack sold 11,888 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.50, for a total value of $3,691,224.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,811 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,644,315.50. This trade represents a 12.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,866 shares of company stock worth $5,205,311. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Materials

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXP. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,032 shares of the construction company's stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 1.4% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,981 shares of the construction company's stock worth $858,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Financial Strategies Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Strategies Group Inc. now owns 1,022 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 1.5% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,872 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 676 shares of the construction company's stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eagle Materials Company Profile

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.