Royal Bank of Canada Lowers Holdings in Eagle Materials Inc $EXP

Royal Bank of Canada trimmed its stake in shares of Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) by 22.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 27,213 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 7,956 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $5,155,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EXP. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Eagle Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $103,778,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $90,147,000. Baupost Group LLC MA increased its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 39.0% during the 3rd quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 939,660 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $218,978,000 after purchasing an additional 263,403 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $52,674,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,812,000. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

NYSE:EXP opened at $210.22 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 3.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $214.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $209.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.45 billion, a PE ratio of 16.62 and a beta of 1.38. Eagle Materials Inc has a fifty-two week low of $171.99 and a fifty-two week high of $245.53.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.37 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $650.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $620.35 million. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 17.32% and a return on equity of 26.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.76 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Eagle Materials Inc will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on EXP shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Stephens lifted their price target on Eagle Materials from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. 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 report on Tuesday, June 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $222.56.

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.