Legal & General Group Plc Makes New Investment in Eagle Materials Inc $EXP

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 36,801 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,280,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $688,486,000. W1M Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $155,199,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Eagle Materials during the second quarter worth $129,760,000. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Eagle Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $103,778,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Eagle Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $90,147,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on EXP shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $208.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Monday, August 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $220.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $223.67.

Eagle Materials Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE EXP opened at $191.59 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $210.54 and its 200-day moving average is $207.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 3.23 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15 and a beta of 1.36. Eagle Materials Inc has a one year low of $171.99 and a one year high of $245.53.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $650.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $620.35 million. Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 26.87% and a net margin of 17.32%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.76 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Eagle Materials Inc will post 12.66 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Tony Thompson sold 3,074 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.96, for a total value of $626,973.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,562.32. The trade was a 23.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Eagle Materials

Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) is a Dallas, Texas–based manufacturer of building materials serving construction and heavy industry markets across the United States. The company’s primary products include portland and masonry cements, gypsum wallboard, lightweight aggregate, paperboard packaging, and roofing granules. These product lines support a wide range of end uses—from residential and commercial buildings to infrastructure projects and industrial applications.

Since its spin-off from a major homebuilding company in 2004, Eagle Materials has grown through targeted facility expansions and strategic acquisitions.