First Trust Advisors LP Lowers Position in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its stake in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 14.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 105,851 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 18,173 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $26,120,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position 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 buying an additional 652,836 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Eagle Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $93,672,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,115,000. Baupost Group LLC MA lifted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 638,223 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $157,488,000 after purchasing an additional 137,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,846,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Materials Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of EXP opened at $218.71 on Friday. Eagle Materials Inc. has a one year low of $201.61 and a one year high of $321.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $220.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $256.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 2.76. The company has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.62 and a beta of 1.25.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.97 by ($0.38). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 20.91% and a return on equity of 34.14%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.14%.

Insider Transactions at Eagle Materials

In related news, Director Michael R. Nicolais purchased 310 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $257.36 per share, with a total value of $79,781.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $940,650.80. This trade represents a 9.27 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXP has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup lowered shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $334.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $280.00 to $245.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Eagle Materials from $330.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Eagle Materials in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $242.00 target price on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $274.40.

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.