Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $279.67.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on EXP shares. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $250.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $300.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $311.00 to $297.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd.

Eagle Materials Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:EXP opened at $214.29 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $240.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $237.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.73 and a beta of 1.32. Eagle Materials has a 12-month low of $145.03 and a 12-month high of $276.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 21st. The construction company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.48). The company had revenue of $476.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $480.20 million. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 21.14% and a return on equity of 37.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.79 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Eagle Materials will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 7.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 49.7% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 51,711 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,611,000 after purchasing an additional 17,163 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Eagle Materials by 19.2% in the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,220 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,202,000 after acquiring an additional 1,162 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Eagle Materials by 0.9% in the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 19,706 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,281,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Eagle Materials by 0.5% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 45,435 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,565,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Eagle Materials by 4.2% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 136,789 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,778,000 after acquiring an additional 5,458 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

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.