Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $166.00 and last traded at $166.0360, with a volume of 26384 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $171.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on EXP shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $196.00 to $188.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research cut shares of Eagle Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Stephens increased their price target on Eagle Materials from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Eagle Materials from $232.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eagle Materials presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $212.78.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.18 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 3.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $193.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.12.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.37 by ($0.08). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 17.32% and a return on equity of 26.87%. The business had revenue of $650.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $620.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Monday, September 14th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 14th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 7.91%.

Insider Activity at Eagle Materials

In other Eagle Materials news, SVP Tony Thompson sold 3,074 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.96, for a total value of $626,973.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,068,562.32. This trade represents a 23.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $688,486,000. Baupost Group LLC MA increased its stake in Eagle Materials by 26.1% during the fourth quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,185,248 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $244,967,000 after acquiring an additional 245,588 shares during the last quarter. W1M Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Eagle Materials in the second quarter valued at $155,199,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $129,760,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Eagle Materials by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 627,427 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $118,846,000 after buying an additional 16,782 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Materials Company Profile

Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE: EXP) is a Dallas-based manufacturer of basic building materials used in residential, commercial and infrastructure construction. Its primary products include Portland cement, ready-mixed concrete, aggregates, gypsum wallboard and gypsum paperboard.

The company operates through businesses focused on cement, concrete and aggregates, and gypsum wallboard and paperboard. Its materials are sold primarily in the United States, with production and distribution operations serving markets across several regions, including the central, southern and southwestern parts of the country.

Eagle Materials traces its origins to the construction-materials operations formerly associated with Centex Corporation and became an independent, publicly traded company in 1994.