M&G Plc Buys 1,638 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

M&G Plc boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 4.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,034 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,638 shares during the period. M&G Plc owned 0.11% of Eagle Materials worth $8,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Eagle Materials during the 4th quarter worth $1,988,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Eagle Materials by 39.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,537 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 2,993 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Eagle Materials by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,894 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,754,000 after acquiring an additional 4,130 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 261.8% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 871,970 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $176,870,000 after purchasing an additional 630,964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mad River Investors bought a new position in shares of Eagle Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $1,552,000. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Dale Craig Kesler sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.76, for a total value of $1,333,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 60,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,135,778.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Dale Craig Kesler sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.76, for a total value of $1,333,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 60,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,135,778.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric Cribbs sold 1,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.06, for a total value of $512,838.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,937 shares in the company, valued at $3,861,385.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Eagle Materials from $300.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Raymond James lowered Eagle Materials from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Eagle Materials from $310.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Eagle Materials from $270.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $289.78.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 2.6 %

EXP traded up $6.14 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $245.49. 195,065 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 318,457. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.57 and a beta of 1.32. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 1-year low of $145.03 and a 1-year high of $279.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $230.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $244.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $608.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $622.06 million. Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 37.10% and a net margin of 21.65%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.55 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 15.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is presently 7.34%.

Eagle Materials 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.