Analysts Set Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) Target Price at $297.78

Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $297.78.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on EXP shares. Raymond James lowered Eagle Materials from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $280.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $252.00 to $311.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $309.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Eagle Materials from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

Shares of EXP stock opened at $300.76 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $267.87 and a 200-day moving average of $250.65. Eagle Materials has a one year low of $145.03 and a one year high of $304.98. The company has a market cap of $10.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.08 and a beta of 1.32.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $608.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $622.06 million. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 21.65% and a return on equity of 37.10%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.55 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Eagle Materials will post 15.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.34%.

Insider Activity at Eagle Materials

In other Eagle Materials news, CFO Dale Craig Kesler sold 5,000 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.76, for a total transaction of $1,333,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 60,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,135,778.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Dale Craig Kesler sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 60,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,135,778.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director George John Damiris sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.62, for a total transaction of $277,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,943 shares in the company, valued at $2,205,135.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,851 shares of company stock worth $2,124,258. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Materials

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXP. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $316,000. Mayport LLC purchased a new stake in Eagle Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $431,000. Creative Planning lifted its position in Eagle Materials by 3.7% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,327 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,971,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in Eagle Materials by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,160 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $621,000 after buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covea Finance grew its stake in Eagle Materials by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covea Finance now owns 11,200 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,222,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

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.