Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Takes $2.17 Million Position in Eagle Materials Inc $EXP

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 9,644 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,170,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EXP. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Eagle Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $688,486,000. Baupost Group LLC MA boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,185,248 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $244,967,000 after buying an additional 245,588 shares during the period. W1M Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the second quarter worth about $155,199,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 2.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 627,427 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $118,846,000 after buying an additional 16,782 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $129,760,000. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EXP opened at $194.33 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 3.23. Eagle Materials Inc has a fifty-two week low of $171.99 and a fifty-two week high of $245.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $208.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $206.90.

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

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 14th 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 is Monday, September 14th. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is currently 7.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Tony Thompson sold 3,074 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.96, for a total value of $626,973.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,068,562.32. This represents a 23.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $240.00 to $232.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Monday, August 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $220.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Eagle Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $223.67.

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.