Natixis Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Eagle Materials Inc $EXP

Natixis Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) by 13.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 95,566 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 14,804 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $19,752,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Baupost Group LLC MA lifted its position in Eagle Materials by 39.0% during the third 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. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Eagle Materials by 0.6% during the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 615,250 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $143,378,000 after purchasing an additional 3,505 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Eagle Materials by 2.5% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 534,380 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $124,532,000 after purchasing an additional 13,104 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Eagle Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $90,147,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Eagle Materials by 4.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 363,508 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $84,712,000 after purchasing an additional 15,899 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eagle Materials Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of EXP stock opened at $212.48 on Friday. Eagle Materials Inc has a 12-month low of $171.99 and a 12-month high of $243.64. The company has a current ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $202.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 1.37.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 19th. The construction company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.32. Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 28.27% and a net margin of 18.36%.The firm had revenue of $479.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $451.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Eagle Materials Inc will post 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is 7.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on EXP. Citigroup lowered their target price on Eagle Materials from $224.00 to $217.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Eagle Materials from $208.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Eagle Materials from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Stephens decreased their price target on Eagle Materials from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Eagle Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $224.30.

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.