Sei Investments Co. Reduces Stock Holdings in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Sei Investments Co. lowered its position in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP - Free Report) by 24.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,311 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 18,396 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned approximately 0.17% of Eagle Materials worth $13,895,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EXP. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Eagle Materials by 78.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,948 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $10,915,000 after purchasing an additional 16,645 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the 4th quarter worth $8,890,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 242.4% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,789 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,922,000 after buying an additional 5,514 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Eagle Materials by 60.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,735,133 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $499,111,000 after acquiring an additional 652,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Eagle Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,115,000. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on EXP shares. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Eagle Materials from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lowered Eagle Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $334.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eagle Materials presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $279.40.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 3.3 %

Eagle Materials stock traded up $7.50 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $234.98. The company had a trading volume of 482,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 319,859. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 12-month low of $205.44 and a 12-month high of $321.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 2.76. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $234.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $264.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78 and a beta of 1.37.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 20.91% and a return on equity of 34.14%. 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 0.43%. Eagle Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.14%.

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.