Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) Shares Purchased by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 1,621.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,616 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,651 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $4,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of EXP. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 878,400 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 60.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,735,133 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $499,111,000 after acquiring an additional 652,836 shares during the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA raised its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 46.2% during the 3rd quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 500,273 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $143,904,000 after acquiring an additional 158,171 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,846,000. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the third quarter valued at about $22,552,000. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Eagle Materials

In related news, SVP Tony Thompson sold 1,401 shares of the 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 directly owns 13,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,148,568. This represents a 9.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 3,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.30, for a total value of $1,074,173.10. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,100 shares in the company, valued at $330,330. The trade was a 76.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,866 shares of company stock worth $5,205,311. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Eagle Materials from $277.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Loop Capital cut Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $330.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.80.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

Shares of EXP opened at $259.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.32 and a beta of 1.37. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 52-week low of $211.44 and a 52-week high of $321.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $265.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $269.68.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.97 by ($0.38). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 21.32% and a return on equity of 35.79%. Research analysts predict that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 15.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.06%.

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.