Covea Finance Trims Holdings in Eagle Materials Inc $EXP

Covea Finance lowered its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) by 12.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,000 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,700 shares during the period. Covea Finance’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $4,428,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 2.0% during the second quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 2,750 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $556,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Eagle Materials by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,474 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Eagle Materials by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,146 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its stake in Eagle Materials by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,084 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 9,652 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,951,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Eagle Materials from $261.00 to $251.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $255.00 to $233.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Monday, December 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $236.30.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:EXP opened at $213.90 on Friday. Eagle Materials Inc has a 1 year low of $191.91 and a 1 year high of $265.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 2.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $217.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $221.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79 and a beta of 1.37.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The construction company reported $4.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $638.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $635.55 million. Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 30.13% and a net margin of 19.41%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.31 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials Inc will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.38%.

Insider Transactions at Eagle Materials

In related news, Director David E. Rush bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $208.08 per share, with a total value of $208,080.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 4,173 shares in the company, valued at approximately $868,317.84. This represents a 31.52% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.