Virtu Financial LLC Purchases New Shares in Eagle Materials Inc $EXP

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,907 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,634,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 1,671.4% in the fourth quarter. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. now owns 12,400 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,563,000 after acquiring an additional 11,700 shares in the last quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC purchased a new position in Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter worth $1,321,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Eagle Materials by 743.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 34,317 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,997,000 after purchasing an additional 30,250 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 99,319 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $23,145,000 after purchasing an additional 13,147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 121,599 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,337,000 after purchasing an additional 28,262 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Materials Stock Up 0.1%

Eagle Materials stock opened at $224.86 on Friday. Eagle Materials Inc has a 1-year low of $171.99 and a 1-year high of $243.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.14 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.54.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 19th. The construction company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.32. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 18.36% and a return on equity of 28.27%. The business had revenue of $479.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $451.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.00 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Eagle Materials Inc will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 7.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $224.00 to $217.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Eagle Materials from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Stephens reduced their price objective on Eagle Materials from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Eagle Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $224.30.

Eagle Materials Profile

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.