Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Cut to “Neutral” at Citigroup

Citigroup cut shares of Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $280.00 target price on the construction company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $334.00.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $330.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Eagle Materials from $277.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, November 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eagle Materials has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $301.44.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

Shares of EXP opened at $238.56 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 2.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $281.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $266.05. The stock has a market cap of $8.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.85 and a beta of 1.37. Eagle Materials has a one year low of $197.58 and a one year high of $321.93.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $4.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by ($0.44). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 21.32% and a return on equity of 35.79%. The firm had revenue of $623.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $651.46 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.28 EPS. Eagle Materials’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Eagle Materials will post 15.24 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is presently 7.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eagle Materials

In other Eagle Materials news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 3,577 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.30, for a total value of $1,074,173.10. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $330,330. This trade represents a 76.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tony Thompson sold 1,401 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.00, for a total transaction of $439,914.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,148,568. This trade represents a 9.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,866 shares of company stock valued at $5,205,311 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eagle Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Eagle Materials by 78.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,948 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $10,915,000 after acquiring an additional 16,645 shares in the last quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 400.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 12,978 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,733,000 after purchasing an additional 10,384 shares during the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA grew its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 46.2% in the third quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 500,273 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $143,904,000 after purchasing an additional 158,171 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $920,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in Eagle Materials by 11.8% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 27,265 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,843,000 after buying an additional 2,871 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.