Prudential Financial Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP - Free Report) by 84.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,851 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 9,962 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.'s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position 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 valued at $499,111,000 after purchasing an additional 652,836 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 3.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 707,607 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $203,585,000 after buying an additional 23,911 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 322,384 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $79,551,000 after buying an additional 2,216 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 270,711 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $66,801,000 after acquiring an additional 37,689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its holdings in Eagle Materials by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 198,994 shares of the construction company's stock worth $57,241,000 after acquiring an additional 27,397 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Eagle Materials in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a "hold" rating and a $242.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup cut Eagle Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $334.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Eagle Materials from $280.00 to $245.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Eagle Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $330.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $279.40.

Insider Transactions at Eagle Materials

In other news, Director Michael R. Nicolais bought 310 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $257.36 per share, with a total value of $79,781.60. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,655 shares of the company's stock, valued at $940,650.80. The trade was a 9.27 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

NYSE EXP traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $227.56. 52,389 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 387,853. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 52 week low of $201.61 and a 52 week high of $321.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28 and a beta of 1.25. The business's fifty day moving average price is $226.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $260.04.

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

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Eagle Materials's payout ratio is 7.14%.

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.