Brokerages Set Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) Target Price at $228.36

Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $228.8182.

Several equities analysts recently commented on EXP shares. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target (down from $230.00) on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $240.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

NYSE:EXP opened at $201.44 on Monday. Eagle Materials has a one year low of $171.99 and a one year high of $243.64. The company has a market cap of $6.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.25 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $203.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $215.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 4.27 and a quick ratio of 2.68.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.32 by ($0.10). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 18.70% and a return on equity of 28.96%. The company had revenue of $555.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $556.41 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.59 earnings per share. Eagle Materials’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Eagle Materials will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 7.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Materials

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baupost Group LLC MA grew its stake in Eagle Materials by 26.1% during the fourth quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,185,248 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $244,967,000 after buying an additional 245,588 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Eagle Materials by 0.6% during the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 615,250 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $143,378,000 after buying an additional 3,505 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Eagle Materials by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 610,645 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $126,217,000 after buying an additional 7,749 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Eagle Materials by 2.5% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 534,380 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $124,532,000 after buying an additional 13,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Eagle Materials by 14.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 511,372 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $119,179,000 after buying an additional 65,072 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eagle Materials Company Profile

Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) is a Dallas, Texas–based manufacturer of building materials serving construction and heavy industry markets across the United States. The company’s primary products include portland and masonry cements, gypsum wallboard, lightweight aggregate, paperboard packaging, and roofing granules. These product lines support a wide range of end uses—from residential and commercial buildings to infrastructure projects and industrial applications.

Since its spin-off from a major homebuilding company in 2004, Eagle Materials has grown through targeted facility expansions and strategic acquisitions.