Renaissance Group LLC Buys 74,463 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Renaissance Group LLC grew its holdings in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP - Free Report) by 487.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 89,732 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 74,463 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Group LLC owned 0.27% of Eagle Materials worth $22,136,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EXP. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Eagle Materials by 1.4% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,981 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $858,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Sprott Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 1,695 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,086 shares of the construction company's stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 569 shares of the construction company's stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,872 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,114,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Eagle Materials Price Performance

Shares of EXP traded up $6.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $223.27. 329,977 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 331,360. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50-day moving average of $227.50 and a 200 day moving average of $260.46. Eagle Materials Inc. has a one year low of $201.61 and a one 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts expect that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. Eagle Materials's payout ratio is 7.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eagle Materials news, Director Michael R. Nicolais bought 310 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 approximately $940,650.80. The trade was a 9.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Eagle Materials in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $242.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $330.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Eagle Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Eagle Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $279.40.

Eagle Materials Company 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.