Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC Cuts Stake in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC cut its stake in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP - Free Report) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,573 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 9,700 shares during the quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC owned about 0.26% of Eagle Materials worth $21,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Eagle Materials by 178.6% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 19,500 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,812,000 after purchasing an additional 12,500 shares in the last quarter. Farringdon Capital Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $328,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Eagle Materials by 53.0% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,460 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,594,000 after acquiring an additional 2,238 shares during the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA boosted its stake in Eagle Materials by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 638,223 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $157,488,000 after acquiring an additional 137,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its holdings in Eagle Materials by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 7,333 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Eagle Materials in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $242.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $280.00 to $245.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup lowered Eagle Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $334.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $279.40.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE:EXP traded up $4.47 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $218.00. The company had a trading volume of 193,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 331,536. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 1 year low of $201.61 and a 1 year high of $321.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50-day moving average of $222.42 and a 200 day moving average of $257.38. The company has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.57 and a beta of 1.25.

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

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Eagle Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.