Intech Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 3,858 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $952,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Eagle Materials by 30.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,801,257 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,093,432,000 after purchasing an additional 878,400 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 60.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,735,133 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $499,111,000 after acquiring an additional 652,836 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 3.5% in the third 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. Baupost Group LLC MA increased its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 46.2% in the third quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 500,273 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $143,904,000 after acquiring an additional 158,171 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 2.7% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 349,756 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $100,607,000 after acquiring an additional 9,216 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on EXP. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of 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. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup cut shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $334.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Loop Capital cut shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $286.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eagle Materials news, Director Michael R. Nicolais acquired 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $257.36 per share, for a total transaction of $79,781.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,655 shares in the company, valued at $940,650.80. This trade represents a 9.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EXP opened at $217.86 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.56 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 1 year low of $205.44 and a 1 year high of $321.93. The company’s 50-day moving average is $238.68 and its 200 day moving average is $265.98.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.14%.

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.