ProShare Advisors LLC Sells 55 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

ProShare Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,625 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 55 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in Eagle Materials by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 15,821 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,209,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 10,732 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,177,000 after buying an additional 2,196 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,965 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $601,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. Baldwin Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the period. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 133.0% in the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 662,628 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $134,407,000 after purchasing an additional 378,296 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $280.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $270.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Raymond James cut shares of Eagle Materials from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $252.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $289.78.

Insider Transactions at Eagle Materials

In other news, CFO Dale Craig Kesler sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 60,488 shares in the company, valued at $16,135,778.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Dale Craig Kesler sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director George John Damiris sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.62, for a total transaction of $277,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,943 shares in the company, valued at $2,205,135.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,851 shares of company stock worth $2,124,258 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Eagle Materials Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE EXP opened at $281.54 on Thursday. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.03 and a 52-week high of $293.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 2.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $259.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $248.83. The stock has a market cap of $9.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.67 and a beta of 1.32.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $608.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $622.06 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.55 earnings per share. Eagle Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 15.9 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.34%.

About Eagle Materials

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.