Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $217.29, but opened at $210.18. Eagle Materials shares last traded at $216.97, with a volume of 614,445 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on EXP shares. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Eagle Materials from $280.00 to $245.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Eagle Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $330.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup cut 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $279.40.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95 and a beta of 1.25. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $227.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $260.63. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Remove Ads

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.97 by ($0.38). Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 20.91%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Eagle Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael R. Nicolais acquired 310 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $257.36 per share, for a total transaction of $79,781.60. Following the acquisition, 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eagle Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Eagle Materials by 78.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,948 shares of the construction company's stock worth $10,915,000 after acquiring an additional 16,645 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $8,890,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 242.4% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,789 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 5,514 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Eagle Materials by 60.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,735,133 shares of the construction company's stock worth $499,111,000 after purchasing an additional 652,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,115,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% 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.