Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $320.00 and last traded at $319.30, with a volume of 123345 shares. The stock had previously closed at $314.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EXP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $252.00 to $311.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Eagle Materials from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Eagle Materials from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Eagle Materials from $309.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Eagle Materials from $277.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $304.89.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 0.3 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $293.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $258.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.58 billion, a PE ratio of 22.27 and a beta of 1.32.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $4.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.75 by ($0.44). Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 35.79% and a net margin of 21.32%. The company had revenue of $623.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $651.46 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 15.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.06%.

Insider Transactions at Eagle Materials

In other news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 3,577 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.30, for a total value of $1,074,173.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $330,330. This trade represents a 76.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Haack sold 11,888 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.50, for a total transaction of $3,691,224.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 85,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,644,315.50. The trade was a 12.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,866 shares of company stock valued at $5,482,931. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Materials

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 30.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,801,257 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,093,432,000 after purchasing an additional 878,400 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Eagle Materials by 25.2% during the 2nd quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 805,257 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $175,111,000 after purchasing an additional 162,049 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Eagle Materials by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 707,607 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $203,585,000 after acquiring an additional 23,911 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Eagle Materials by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 595,276 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $129,449,000 after acquiring an additional 28,003 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 33.4% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 529,701 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $115,189,000 after purchasing an additional 132,677 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eagle Materials Company 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.