Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) Shares Sold by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC cut its position in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,780 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,144 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $3,154,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Eagle Materials by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,887 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $828,000 after purchasing an additional 962 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Eagle Materials in the third quarter worth about $230,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 78.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,948 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $10,915,000 after buying an additional 16,645 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Eagle Materials by 3.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 707,607 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $203,585,000 after acquiring an additional 23,911 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in Eagle Materials by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 2,883 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $906,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eagle Materials Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of EXP opened at $226.71 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $226.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $260.04. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.61 and a 12-month high of $321.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.19 and a beta of 1.25.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on EXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $330.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $334.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $279.40.

Insider Transactions at Eagle Materials

In other Eagle Materials news, Director Michael R. Nicolais purchased 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 approximately $940,650.80. This trade represents a 9.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.60% 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.