Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) Shares Sold by Skylands Capital LLC

Skylands Capital LLC lessened its position in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 41,730 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,775 shares during the quarter. Eagle Materials comprises approximately 1.4% of Skylands Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Skylands Capital LLC’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $10,297,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXP. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the third quarter worth about $64,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $81,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 676 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $170,000. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 760 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $188,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Materials Trading Down 3.6 %

Eagle Materials stock opened at $224.46 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $7.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.03 and a beta of 1.37. Eagle Materials Inc. has a one year low of $211.44 and a one year high of $321.93. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $250.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $270.75.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.97 by ($0.38). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 20.91% and a return on equity of 34.14%. On average, analysts forecast that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 7.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael R. Nicolais purchased 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $257.36 per share, with a total value of $79,781.60. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $940,650.80. This represents a 9.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on EXP. Jefferies Financial Group cut Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $330.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Loop Capital cut Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Citigroup lowered Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $334.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price target on Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eagle Materials has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.80.

About Eagle Materials

Eagle Materials Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells heavy construction materials and light building materials in the United States. It operates in four segments: Cement, Concrete and Aggregates, Gypsum Wallboard, and Recycled Paperboard. The company engages in the mining of limestone for the manufacture, production, distribution, and sale of Portland cement, including Portland limestone cement; grinding and sale of slag; and mining of gypsum for the manufacture and sale of gypsum wallboards used to finish the interior walls and ceilings in residential, commercial, and industrial structures, as well as well as containerboard and lightweight packaging grades; manufacture and sale of recycled paperboard to the gypsum wallboard industry and other paperboard converters; the sale of readymix concrete; and mining and sale of aggregates, such as crushed stone, sand, and gravel.