Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $320.00 and last traded at $319.30, with a volume of 123345 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $314.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXP has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $277.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $252.00 to $311.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $280.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Eagle Materials from $309.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $307.11.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $10.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $295.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $259.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $4.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by ($0.44). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 21.32% and a return on equity of 35.79%. The firm had revenue of $623.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $651.46 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.28 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 15.24 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eagle Materials

In related news, Director George John Damiris sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.62, for a total value of $277,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,205,135.66. This trade represents a 11.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tony Thompson sold 1,401 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.00, for a total transaction of $439,914.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,148,568. The trade was a 9.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 17,866 shares of company stock worth $5,482,931. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eagle Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EXP. FMR LLC raised its stake in Eagle Materials by 30.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,801,257 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,093,432,000 after buying an additional 878,400 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in Eagle Materials by 25.2% in the 2nd quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 805,257 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $175,111,000 after acquiring an additional 162,049 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 707,607 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $203,585,000 after purchasing an additional 23,911 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Eagle Materials by 4.9% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 595,276 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $129,449,000 after purchasing an additional 28,003 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 33.4% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 529,701 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $115,189,000 after purchasing an additional 132,677 shares during the last quarter. 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.