Zacks Research Upgrades Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) to Strong-Buy

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on EXP. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $208.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Eagle Materials from $240.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Stephens cut their target price on Eagle Materials from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $224.30.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of EXP stock opened at $220.88 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $213.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.74. Eagle Materials has a fifty-two week low of $171.99 and a fifty-two week high of $245.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.83 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 3.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 19th. The construction company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.32. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 18.36% and a return on equity of 28.27%. 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 business earned $2.00 earnings per share. Eagle Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Eagle Materials will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EXP. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec increased its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 3.6% during the third quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 1,426 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Eagle Materials by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 389 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,406 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Eagle Materials by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,294 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.