Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.44 EPS

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The construction company reported $4.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.75 by ($0.44), Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $623.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $651.46 million. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 21.65% and a return on equity of 37.10%. Eagle Materials's quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.28 EPS.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

NYSE:EXP traded up $5.63 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $288.55. The company had a trading volume of 293,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 308,193. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $276.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $252.76. Eagle Materials has a 52-week low of $152.59 and a 52-week high of $306.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $9.77 billion, a PE ratio of 21.19 and a beta of 1.32.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. Eagle Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eagle Materials news, Director George John Damiris sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.62, for a total transaction of $277,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,943 shares in the company, valued at $2,205,135.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on EXP shares. Raymond James cut Eagle Materials from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $252.00 to $311.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Eagle Materials from $309.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on Eagle Materials from $280.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $302.67.

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.