Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.25

Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, August 5th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a dividend of 0.25 per share by the construction company on Thursday, October 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th.

Eagle Materials has increased its dividend by an average of 115.4% annually over the last three years. Eagle Materials has a payout ratio of 5.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Eagle Materials to earn $18.09 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 5.5%.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 1.9 %

EXP opened at $270.68 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.87 and a beta of 1.32. Eagle Materials has a one year low of $145.03 and a one year high of $279.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 2.45. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $245.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $246.00.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.37. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 21.65% and a return on equity of 37.10%. The firm had revenue of $608.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $622.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.55 EPS. Eagle Materials’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eagle Materials will post 15.9 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on EXP shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Eagle Materials from $300.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stephens increased their target price on Eagle Materials from $280.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Eagle Materials from $270.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Raymond James cut shares of Eagle Materials from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $252.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $289.78.

Insider Transactions at Eagle Materials

In other news, insider Eric Cribbs sold 1,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.06, for a total transaction of $512,838.06. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,861,385.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Dale Craig Kesler sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.76, for a total value of $1,333,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 60,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,135,778.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric Cribbs sold 1,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.06, for a total value of $512,838.06. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,861,385.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% 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.