Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Price Target Raised to $311.00

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) had its target price increased by Citigroup from $252.00 to $311.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on EXP. Raymond James downgraded Eagle Materials from a moderate buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Eagle Materials from $238.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Eagle Materials from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Stephens upped their target price on Eagle Materials from $250.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Eagle Materials from $270.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $289.78.

Eagle Materials Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of EXP stock opened at $253.59 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $229.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $242.22. Eagle Materials has a twelve month low of $145.03 and a twelve month high of $279.69. The company has a market capitalization of $8.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.62 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.37. Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 37.10% and a net margin of 21.65%. The business had revenue of $608.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $622.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.55 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Eagle Materials will post 15.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eagle Materials news, insider Eric Cribbs sold 1,851 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.06, for a total value of $512,838.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,861,385.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Eric Cribbs sold 1,851 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.06, for a total value of $512,838.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,861,385.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Dale Craig Kesler sold 5,000 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.76, for a total value of $1,333,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 60,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,135,778.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Dallas Securities Inc. grew its stake in Eagle Materials by 53.3% in the second quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 19,207 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,177,000 after acquiring an additional 6,675 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 46.0% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 975 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Effects LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 17.1% in the second quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 6,616 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,439,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 8.7% in the second quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 177,485 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $38,596,000 after purchasing an additional 14,264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 44.6% in the second quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 4,892 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.