Stifel Nicolaus Cuts Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Price Target to $286.00

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) had its price objective trimmed by Stifel Nicolaus from $300.00 to $286.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the construction company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $200.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $170.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $244.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Eagle Materials from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Eagle Materials from $238.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eagle Materials presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $279.67.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 1.1 %

EXP stock opened at $238.16 on Wednesday. Eagle Materials has a 1-year low of $145.03 and a 1-year high of $276.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $8.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.49 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $258.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $228.18.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 21st. The construction company reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.48). The firm had revenue of $476.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $480.20 million. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 21.14% and a return on equity of 37.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.79 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eagle Materials news, EVP Matt Newby sold 2,940 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total transaction of $738,381.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,819 shares in the company, valued at $5,479,841.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eagle Materials

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the first quarter worth $461,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 294.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,070 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,921,000 after purchasing an additional 5,276 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 94.8% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 32,772 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,906,000 after purchasing an additional 15,949 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the first quarter worth $586,000. Finally, Castleark Management LLC increased its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 10.5% during the first quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 21,860 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,940,000 after purchasing an additional 2,080 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

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.