Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC Purchases 316 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 22.4% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,724 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 79.2% during the first quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 95 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 3.7% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 16.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 382 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 0.6% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 9,644 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,097,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 132.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 114 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EXP. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Eagle Materials from $270.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Raymond James cut Eagle Materials from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Stephens raised their target price on Eagle Materials from $280.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup raised their target price on Eagle Materials from $252.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $289.78.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

Shares of EXP opened at $282.47 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $254.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $247.66. Eagle Materials Inc. has a one year low of $145.03 and a one year high of $293.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.56 billion, a PE ratio of 20.74 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.37. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 21.65% and a return on equity of 37.10%. The firm had revenue of $608.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $622.06 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.55 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 15.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is 7.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director George John Damiris sold 1,000 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.62, for a total transaction of $277,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,943 shares in the company, valued at $2,205,135.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related 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 transaction of $1,333,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 60,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,135,778.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director George John Damiris sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,205,135.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,851 shares of company stock worth $2,124,258. Insiders own 1.60% 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.