Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) Stock Position Raised by O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,644 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 626 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $1,639,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EXP. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 205 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter worth $81,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Eagle Materials by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 569 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 676 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $170,000. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Eagle Materials

In related news, Director Michael R. Nicolais purchased 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the director now owns 3,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $940,650.80. This trade represents a 9.27 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $280.00 to $245.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Eagle Materials from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Eagle Materials in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $242.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup lowered Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $334.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Eight 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 presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $279.40.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

NYSE:EXP opened at $217.54 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $233.13 and a 200-day moving average of $263.89. The firm has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54 and a beta of 1.37. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $205.44 and a twelve month high of $321.93.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.97 by ($0.38). Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 20.91%. Analysts forecast that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.14%.

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.