Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) Shares Purchased by Atria Investments Inc

Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,616 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 694 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $1,633,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on EXP. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $330.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Citigroup lowered Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $334.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Loop Capital cut Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $292.40.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE EXP opened at $216.21 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 2.76. Eagle Materials Inc. has a one year low of $205.44 and a one year high of $321.93. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $243.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $268.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44 and a beta of 1.37.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.59 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts predict that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.14%.

Insider Activity at Eagle Materials

In other news, Director Michael R. Nicolais acquired 310 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $257.36 per share, with a total value of $79,781.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $940,650.80. The trade was a 9.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company 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.