Skylands Capital LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Skylands Capital LLC lowered its holdings in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,730 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,775 shares during the period. Eagle Materials comprises 1.4% of Skylands Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Skylands Capital LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Eagle Materials worth $10,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,801,257 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,093,432,000 after purchasing an additional 878,400 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 60.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,735,133 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $499,111,000 after purchasing an additional 652,836 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 707,607 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $203,585,000 after acquiring an additional 23,911 shares during the period. Baupost Group LLC MA boosted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 46.2% during the 3rd quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 500,273 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $143,904,000 after acquiring an additional 158,171 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 349,756 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $100,607,000 after acquiring an additional 9,216 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on EXP. Loop Capital cut Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, November 25th. Citigroup lowered Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $334.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. DA Davidson cut their target price on Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Eagle Materials from $277.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eagle Materials

In other news, Director Michael R. Nicolais purchased 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were 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 directly owns 3,655 shares in the company, valued at $940,650.80. The trade was a 9.27 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eagle Materials Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE EXP opened at $224.46 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $7.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.03 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $250.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $270.75. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 1 year low of $211.44 and a 1 year high of $321.93.

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

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.