Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 108,984 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,516,229 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 108,984 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of Eagle Materials worth $867,665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 53.0% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 205 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Eagle Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $81,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Eagle Materials by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 676 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $170,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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, with a total value of $79,781.60. Following the transaction, the director now 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Eagle Materials Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of EXP stock opened at $221.02 on Friday. Eagle Materials Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.44 and a fifty-two week high of $321.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.79 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 2.76. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $236.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $265.41.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its quarterly 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%. Equities analysts expect that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is currently 7.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. 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. Citigroup downgraded Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $334.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. DA Davidson decreased their price target 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. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Eagle Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $286.40.

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.