Wells Fargo & Company MN Lowers Stock Holdings in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Wells Fargo & Company MN trimmed its position in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 31.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 132,376 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 59,901 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $32,665,000 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. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,887 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $828,000 after acquiring an additional 962 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Eagle Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $230,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eagle Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $236,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,872 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 78.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,948 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $10,915,000 after buying an additional 16,645 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eagle Materials

In related news, Director Michael R. Nicolais purchased 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $257.36 per share, for a total transaction of $79,781.60. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EXP opened at $216.77 on Friday. 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 $201.61 and a twelve month high of $321.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $228.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $261.04. The stock has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 1.25.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 20.91% and a return on equity of 34.14%. On average, research analysts forecast that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Eagle Materials from $280.00 to $245.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $330.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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 research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Citigroup cut Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $334.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $279.40.

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.