Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $224.30.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on EXP shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $224.00 to $217.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $240.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Eagle Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd.

Eagle Materials Trading Down 2.7%

NYSE EXP opened at $207.06 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $203.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.26. 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 stock has a market cap of $6.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.78 and a beta of 1.37. Eagle Materials has a 12 month low of $171.99 and a 12 month high of $243.64.

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

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.62%.

Institutional Trading of Eagle Materials

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 4.6% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,804 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $721,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials during the first quarter valued at about $212,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 32.4% during the first quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 236,441 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $44,794,000 after buying an additional 57,823 shares during the last quarter. Amundi purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials during the first quarter valued at about $370,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 23.7% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 37,928 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,185,000 after buying an additional 7,261 shares during 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 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.