Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) Stock Position Lowered by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP - Free Report) by 31.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 78,435 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 36,592 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Eagle Materials worth $22,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EXP. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its position in Eagle Materials by 16.0% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 198,994 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $57,241,000 after purchasing an additional 27,397 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 162,863 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $48,435,000 after buying an additional 10,459 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 12.7% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 3,123 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $898,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Eagle Materials during the third quarter worth $34,846,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in Eagle Materials by 20.0% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 2,883 shares of the construction company's stock worth $906,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Eagle Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Loop Capital downgraded Eagle Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Eagle Materials from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $277.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eagle Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $304.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 3,577 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.30, for a total transaction of $1,074,173.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $330,330. This trade represents a 76.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael Haack sold 11,888 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.50, for a total value of $3,691,224.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,811 shares in the company, valued at $26,644,315.50. This trade represents a 12.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 16,866 shares of company stock worth $5,205,311. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EXP traded up $1.69 on Thursday, hitting $251.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 218,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 305,483. The company has a market capitalization of $8.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.79 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 2.34. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 12 month low of $195.93 and a 12 month high of $321.93. The stock's 50-day moving average is $290.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $264.56.

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

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Eagle Materials's payout ratio is currently 7.06%.

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.