Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) Shares Sold by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,514 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,420 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $844,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 59,599 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $14,707,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 52,787 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $13,026,000 after acquiring an additional 6,225 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,222 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,535,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,465 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $855,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Eagle Materials in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $242.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup cut Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $334.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $292.40.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of Eagle Materials stock opened at $213.74 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $7.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.27 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $240.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $267.36. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 1-year low of $205.44 and a 1-year high of $321.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its earnings results 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%. Analysts predict that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is presently 7.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael R. Nicolais purchased 310 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $257.36 per share, with a total value of $79,781.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,655 shares in the company, valued at $940,650.80. This represents a 9.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

About Eagle Materials

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.