Michael R. Nicolais Buys 310 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) Stock

Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) Director Michael R. Nicolais acquired 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $257.36 per share, for a total transaction of $79,781.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $940,650.80. This represents a 9.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Eagle Materials Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE EXP opened at $246.25 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $256.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $271.14. Eagle Materials Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $211.44 and a fifty-two week high of $321.93. 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 company has a market cap of $8.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.59 and a beta of 1.37.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 20.91%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is 7.14%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eagle Materials

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 3.7% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,032 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Eagle Materials by 1.4% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,981 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $858,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Financial Strategies Group Inc. increased its holdings in Eagle Materials by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Strategies Group Inc. now owns 1,022 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Sprott Inc. raised its position in Eagle Materials by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 1,695 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Eagle Materials by 10.9% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lowered Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $334.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded 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 report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Eagle Materials from $277.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.80.

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.