Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Cut to “Neutral” at Citigroup

Citigroup downgraded shares of Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $280.00 target price on the construction company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $334.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital lowered shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Eagle Materials from $277.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Eagle Materials from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $301.44.

Eagle Materials Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE EXP opened at $238.56 on Monday. Eagle Materials has a 1-year low of $197.58 and a 1-year high of $321.93. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $281.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $266.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.85 and a beta of 1.37.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released 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). The company had revenue of $623.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $651.46 million. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 21.32% and a return on equity of 35.79%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.28 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Eagle Materials will post 15.24 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is currently 7.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 3,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 1,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $330,330. The trade was a 76.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Tony Thompson sold 1,401 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.00, for a total value of $439,914.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,148,568. The trade was a 9.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,866 shares of company stock worth $5,205,311 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position 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 worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Eagle Materials by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,981 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $858,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Financial Strategies Group Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Eagle Materials by 0.6% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 9,644 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,097,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 1.5% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,872 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

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.