Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Eagle Materials from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Stephens set a $255.00 price target on Eagle Materials and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $241.00 price target on Eagle Materials and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Eagle Materials from $245.00 to $237.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on Eagle Materials from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $254.44.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

Shares of EXP opened at $204.38 on Friday. Eagle Materials has a 12-month low of $191.91 and a 12-month high of $321.93. The business’s fifty day moving average is $213.93 and its 200 day moving average is $229.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.85 and a beta of 1.28.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The construction company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $470.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $483.14 million. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 20.50% and a return on equity of 32.71%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.24 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Materials

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in Eagle Materials by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 22,400 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,527,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Hi Line Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Eagle Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $4,770,000. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in Eagle Materials by 469.7% during the 1st quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 2,951 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $655,000 after buying an additional 2,433 shares in the last quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Eagle Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,778,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in Eagle Materials by 329.5% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 24,296 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,995,000 after buying an additional 18,639 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

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.