Eagle Materials Receives “Conviction-Buy” Rating from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (EXP)

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP)‘s stock had its “conviction-buy” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in a research note issued to investors on Monday, AnalystRatingsNetwork.com reports. They currently have a $94.00 price target on the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s price target indicates a potential upside of 39.86% from the stock’s previous close.

The analysts wrote, “We reduce our FY2014-16 EPS to $2.89/$5.07/ $7.65 from $3.24/ $5.89/ $7.82 driven primarily by a slower volume ramp in the frac sand business owing to an environmental permitting delay at Eagle’s frac sand mine in Illinois. While the delay is clearly disappointing, similar mining operations in the state and EXP’s existing limestone quarry suggest approval is likely once the public comment period is complete. We maintain our CL Buy on the stock despite the delay as we remain bullish on the cement pricing cycle and believe EXP’s unique frac sand logistics business provides disproportionate risk-adjusted upside, while on our estimates the stock discounts minimal earnings contribution from the frac sand business.”

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) traded down 0.27% on Monday, hitting $67.03. Eagle Materials has a 1-year low of $38.74 and a 1-year high of $77.84. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $67.65. The company has a market cap of $3.321 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.28.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the analysts’ consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $227.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $246.76 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. Eagle Materials’s revenue was up 47.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Eagle Materials will post $2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Analysts at Zacks downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note to investors on Tuesday, July 30th. They now have a $80.60 price target on the stock. Analysts at Sterne Agee reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note to investors on Thursday, May 16th. They now have a $85.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $80.00.

Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Eagle Materials has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $80.32.

Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) is engaged in the manufacture and distribution of gypsum wallboard and the manufacture and sale of cement.