Short Interest in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) Drops By 12.5%

Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) was the target of a large drop in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 945,100 shares, a drop of 12.5% from the October 31st total of 1,080,000 shares. Approximately 2.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 281,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director George John Damiris sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.62, for a total value of $277,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,943 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,205,135.66. This represents a 11.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael Haack sold 11,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.50, for a total value of $3,691,224.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 85,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,644,315.50. The trade was a 12.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 17,866 shares of company stock worth $5,482,931. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Eagle Materials by 10,750.0% during the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 217 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Eagle Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $64,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Eagle Materials by 23.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 471 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 155.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 434 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 22.5% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 680 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $148,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Loop Capital downgraded Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Eagle Materials from $309.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $277.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eagle Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $307.11.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

EXP stock traded down $1.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $302.60. 172,763 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 246,491. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $296.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $260.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 2.34. The stock has a market cap of $10.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.37 and a beta of 1.33. Eagle Materials has a fifty-two week low of $182.39 and a fifty-two week high of $321.93.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $4.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.75 by ($0.44). Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 35.79% and a net margin of 21.32%. The firm had revenue of $623.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $651.46 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.28 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Eagle Materials will post 15.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.06%.

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.