Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Downgraded to "Neutral" Rating by Citigroup

Citigroup lowered shares of Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP - Free Report) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $280.00 price target on the construction company's stock, down from their prior price target of $334.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on EXP. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Eagle Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Eagle Materials from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $277.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $301.44.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

Eagle Materials stock traded down $3.50 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $243.94. 370,156 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 257,219. Eagle Materials has a fifty-two week low of $197.58 and a fifty-two week high of $321.93. The stock has a market cap of $8.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $283.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $266.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $4.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.75 by ($0.44). The company had revenue of $623.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $651.46 million. Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 35.79% and a net margin of 21.32%. The business's quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.28 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Eagle Materials will post 15.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Eagle Materials's dividend payout ratio is 7.06%.

Insider Activity at Eagle Materials

In related news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 3,577 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were 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 approximately $330,330. The trade was a 76.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Haack sold 11,888 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.50, for a total transaction of $3,691,224.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 85,811 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,644,315.50. This represents a 12.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,866 shares of company stock valued at $5,205,311 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of EXP. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in Eagle Materials by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 2,717 shares of the construction company's stock worth $591,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 0.6% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 9,644 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,097,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Eagle Materials by 30,775.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,235 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 1,231 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its position in Eagle Materials by 66.8% during the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 35,211 shares of the construction company's stock worth $7,657,000 after buying an additional 14,095 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Eagle Materials by 18.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 76,797 shares of the construction company's stock worth $16,700,000 after acquiring an additional 11,702 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently 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.