Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 53 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its position in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 104,186 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 53 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $25,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Eagle Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $64,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $81,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 29.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 611 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in Eagle Materials by 789.9% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 703 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. bought a new stake in Eagle Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $204,000. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

Shares of EXP opened at $255.18 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $8.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23 and a beta of 1.37. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 1 year low of $211.44 and a 1 year high of $321.93. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $261.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $270.51. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.97 by ($0.38). Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 20.91%. On average, equities analysts predict that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded 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. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lowered 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 research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Eagle Materials from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Haack sold 11,888 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.50, for a total transaction of $3,691,224.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 85,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,644,315.50. This represents a 12.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 3,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.30, for a total transaction of $1,074,173.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,100 shares in the company, valued at $330,330. This represents a 76.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.