Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) Shares Sold by American Trust

American Trust lowered its position in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 13.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,781 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 277 shares during the quarter. American Trust’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC lifted its position in Eagle Materials by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 957,818 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $194,284,000 after acquiring an additional 63,636 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 919,714 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $249,932,000 after buying an additional 47,744 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 716,585 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $145,356,000 after buying an additional 14,416 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 133.0% in the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 662,628 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $134,407,000 after buying an additional 378,296 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 61.6% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 509,605 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $138,485,000 after buying an additional 194,342 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

NYSE:EXP traded down $8.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $253.59. 495,057 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 421,227. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $229.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $242.22. The company has a market cap of $8.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.62 and a beta of 1.32. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.03 and a 52-week high of $279.69.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.37. Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 37.10% and a net margin of 21.65%. The business had revenue of $608.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $622.06 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.55 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 15.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 17th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.34%.

Insider Activity at Eagle Materials

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on EXP shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Eagle Materials from $252.00 to $311.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Eagle Materials from $270.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Eagle Materials from $310.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Eagle Materials from $238.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on Eagle Materials from $280.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $289.78.

About Eagle Materials

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.