Eagle Materials Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.25 (NYSE:EXP)

Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, May 24th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share by the construction company on Monday, July 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th.

Eagle Materials has increased its dividend by an average of 115.4% per year over the last three years. Eagle Materials has a dividend payout ratio of 5.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Eagle Materials to earn $17.06 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 5.9%.

Eagle Materials Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of EXP traded up $2.68 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $238.27. 216,716 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 295,153. The company has a market cap of $8.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.30 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $258.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $227.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Eagle Materials has a 12-month low of $145.03 and a 12-month high of $276.61.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 21st. The construction company reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.48). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 21.14% and a return on equity of 37.31%. The company had revenue of $476.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $480.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Eagle Materials will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on EXP shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stephens boosted their price objective on Eagle Materials from $250.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup cut their price target on Eagle Materials from $311.00 to $297.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $310.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Eagle Materials from $300.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Matt Newby sold 2,940 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total transaction of $738,381.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,479,841.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

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.