Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Purchases Shares of 2,096 Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,096 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $518,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXP. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Eagle Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $235,000. Atria Investments Inc lifted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 5,922 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,704,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 2,748 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $790,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 2,323 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 4,813 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eagle Materials news, Director Michael R. Nicolais acquired 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $257.36 per share, for a total transaction of $79,781.60. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $940,650.80. This trade represents a 9.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

Eagle Materials stock opened at $216.21 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 2.76. Eagle Materials Inc. has a one year low of $205.44 and a one year high of $321.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $243.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $268.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.20 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44 and a beta of 1.37.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EXP. Loop Capital lowered Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $330.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. 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, Citigroup lowered Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $334.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Eagle Materials has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $292.40.

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.