Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) Short Interest Down 10.7% in October

Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,080,000 shares, a decrease of 10.7% from the October 15th total of 1,210,000 shares. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 275,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on EXP. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Eagle Materials from $277.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Eagle Materials from $309.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup upped their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $303.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eagle Materials news, SVP Tony Thompson sold 1,401 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.00, for a total transaction of $439,914.00. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director George John Damiris sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.62, for a total transaction of $277,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,943 shares in the company, valued at $2,205,135.66. This trade represents a 11.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eagle Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in Eagle Materials by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 42,249 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $11,481,000 after buying an additional 2,622 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in Eagle Materials by 1.9% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 10,151 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,759,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Eagle Materials in the first quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Eagle Materials by 17.4% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 553 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eagle Materials Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE EXP traded down $1.08 on Monday, hitting $300.20. The company had a trading volume of 188,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 305,190. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Eagle Materials has a 12-month low of $173.05 and a 12-month high of $317.00. The business has a 50 day moving average of $288.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $257.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.28 and a beta of 1.32.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $4.31 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $623.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $651.46 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.28 EPS. Eagle Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Eagle Materials will post 15.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

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

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.