Guggenheim Capital LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Guggenheim Capital LLC reduced its holdings in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP - Free Report) by 79.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,054 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 12,119 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $754,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXP. Baupost Group LLC MA grew its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 638,223 shares of the construction company's stock worth $157,488,000 after buying an additional 137,950 shares during the period. Mariner LLC boosted its stake in Eagle Materials by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 7,333 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,810,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Optimize Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter worth $247,000. Distillate Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $14,964,000. Finally, Paralel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC now owns 9,240 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,280,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on EXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Eagle Materials from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital reduced their price target 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. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $334.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $274.40.

Eagle Materials Stock Down 1.2 %

EXP traded down $2.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $218.71. 233,705 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 333,184. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $220.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $255.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a PE ratio of 15.62 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 2.76. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 1 year low of $201.61 and a 1 year high of $321.93.

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

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eagle Materials news, Director Michael R. Nicolais bought 310 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $257.36 per share, with a total value of $79,781.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,655 shares in the company, valued at $940,650.80. This trade represents a 9.27 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Eagle Materials 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.