Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $171.30 and last traded at $171.4950, with a volume of 53343 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $173.58.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stephens raised their target price on Eagle Materials from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup lowered Eagle Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Eagle Materials from $220.00 to $207.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $196.00 target price (down from $231.00) on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Eagle Materials from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Eagle Materials has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $218.33.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.25 billion, a PE ratio of 13.51 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50-day moving average of $197.75 and a 200 day moving average of $202.66.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $650.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.35 million. Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 26.87% and a net margin of 17.32%.Eagle Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.76 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Eagle Materials Inc will post 12.66 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Investors of record on Monday, September 14th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 14th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.91%.

Insider Transactions at Eagle Materials

In other Eagle Materials news, SVP Tony Thompson sold 3,074 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.96, for a total transaction of $626,973.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,068,562.32. The trade was a 23.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eagle Materials

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Eagle Materials by 11.8% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,447 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,782 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in shares of Eagle Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $515,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 59.9% in the 2nd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,873 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 30.4% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,961 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Eagle Materials

Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE: EXP) is a U.S.-based manufacturer of essential building materials used in residential, commercial and infrastructure construction. The company produces and distributes cement, ready-mix concrete, crushed stone and sand, as well as gypsum wallboard.

Its cement business supplies materials for concrete production and construction projects, while its concrete and aggregates operations provide ready-mix concrete and construction aggregates. Through its American Gypsum operations, Eagle Materials manufactures gypsum wallboard used in interior walls and ceilings.

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Eagle Materials serves regional construction markets primarily across the United States, with operations concentrated in states including Texas, Colorado, Nevada and Oklahoma.