Stephens Lowers Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Price Target to $310.00

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) had its price target lowered by research analysts at Stephens from $325.00 to $310.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the construction company’s stock. Stephens’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 18.65% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also commented on EXP. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective 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. upped their price target on Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup lowered shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $334.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Loop Capital cut shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $300.89.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 1.4 %

Eagle Materials stock opened at $261.27 on Wednesday. Eagle Materials has a one year low of $204.27 and a one year high of $321.93. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $270.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $268.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.45 and a beta of 1.37.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $4.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by ($0.44). The company had revenue of $623.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $651.46 million. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 21.32% and a return on equity of 35.79%. The firm’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.28 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Eagle Materials will post 15.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Tony Thompson sold 1,401 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.00, for a total value of $439,914.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,148,568. The trade was a 9.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael Haack sold 11,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.50, for a total value of $3,691,224.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,811 shares in the company, valued at $26,644,315.50. The trade was a 12.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,866 shares of company stock worth $5,205,311. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eagle Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EXP. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Eagle Materials by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,801,257 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,093,432,000 after acquiring an additional 878,400 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 60.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,735,133 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $499,111,000 after purchasing an additional 652,836 shares in the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA grew its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 46.2% during 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 during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,846,000. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $22,552,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

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.