Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $228.3636.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on EXP shares. Zacks Research raised Eagle Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. DA Davidson cut their price target on Eagle Materials from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price target on Eagle Materials in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Eagle Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Tuesday, January 20th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in Eagle Materials by 21.5% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,019 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 3.9% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,474 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,302 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $870,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 12,634 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 8,553 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,729,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Materials Stock Up 2.1%

EXP stock opened at $186.64 on Thursday. Eagle Materials has a 12-month low of $171.99 and a 12-month high of $243.64. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 4.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.13 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $213.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $219.74.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.32 by ($0.10). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 18.70% and a return on equity of 28.96%. The company had revenue of $555.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $556.41 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 7.57%.

About Eagle Materials

Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) is a Dallas, Texas–based manufacturer of building materials serving construction and heavy industry markets across the United States. The company’s primary products include portland and masonry cements, gypsum wallboard, lightweight aggregate, paperboard packaging, and roofing granules. These product lines support a wide range of end uses—from residential and commercial buildings to infrastructure projects and industrial applications.

Since its spin-off from a major homebuilding company in 2004, Eagle Materials has grown through targeted facility expansions and strategic acquisitions.