Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 10,910 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its stake in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP - Free Report) by 35.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 19,608 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 10,910 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.06% of Eagle Materials worth $4,838,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Eagle Materials by 30.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,801,257 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,093,432,000 after buying an additional 878,400 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 60.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,735,133 shares of the construction company's stock worth $499,111,000 after buying an additional 652,836 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Eagle Materials by 3.5% in 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. Baupost Group LLC MA raised its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 46.2% during the 3rd quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 500,273 shares of the construction company's stock worth $143,904,000 after acquiring an additional 158,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Eagle Materials by 2.7% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 349,756 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $100,607,000 after purchasing an additional 9,216 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Eagle Materials Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:EXP traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $228.98. The stock had a trading volume of 157,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 307,812. 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 company has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34 and a beta of 1.37. The company's 50 day moving average is $238.17 and its 200-day moving average is $265.99.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.59 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael R. Nicolais acquired 310 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $257.36 per share, for a total transaction of $79,781.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,655 shares of the company's stock, valued at $940,650.80. This represents a 9.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EXP. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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 report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup cut shares of Eagle Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $334.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Eagle Materials in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a "hold" rating and a $242.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $286.40.

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.