JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Price Target to $230.00

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) had its target price lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $245.00 to $230.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the construction company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on EXP. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Eagle Materials from $261.00 to $251.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Eagle Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $246.00 target price on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eagle Materials has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $243.30.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

Eagle Materials stock opened at $203.02 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $228.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $222.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.51 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 1.31. Eagle Materials has a 1-year low of $191.91 and a 1-year high of $321.93.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The construction company reported $4.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $638.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $635.55 million. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 19.81% and a return on equity of 31.21%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.31 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Eagle Materials will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eagle Materials

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Eagle Materials by 130.9% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 127 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Eagle Materials in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 7,750.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 157 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management boosted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 3,060.0% during the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 158 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Eagle Materials by 102.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Materials Company Profile

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.