Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 15,388 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 722,995 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,388 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.17% of Eagle Materials worth $178,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,981 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $858,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Sprott Inc. increased its stake in Eagle Materials by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 1,695 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Eagle Materials by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,086 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 569 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,872 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson cut their target price on Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $280.00 to $245.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Eagle Materials in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $242.00 target price for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $279.40.

Eagle Materials Trading Down 4.9 %

Shares of NYSE EXP opened at $217.54 on Monday. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 1-year low of $205.44 and a 1-year high of $321.93. The company has a 50-day moving average of $233.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $263.75. The company has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 20.91%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 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, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.14%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael R. Nicolais bought 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $257.36 per share, for a total transaction of $79,781.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $940,650.80. This represents a 9.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eagle Materials 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.