Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 30.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 28,849 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 6,726 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $7,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,000. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in Eagle Materials by 155.3% during the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 434 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Eagle Materials by 29.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 611 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $176,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 23.5% in the third quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 630 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $181,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 789.9% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 703 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Eagle Materials

In related news, CEO Michael Haack sold 11,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.50, for a total value of $3,691,224.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 85,811 shares in the company, valued at $26,644,315.50. The trade was a 12.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tony Thompson sold 1,401 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.00, for a total transaction of $439,914.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,212 shares in the company, valued at $4,148,568. The trade was a 9.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,866 shares of company stock valued at $5,205,311. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on EXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Citigroup cut shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $334.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $325.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Eagle Materials from $277.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $300.89.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EXP opened at $262.28 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $269.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $268.67. Eagle Materials Inc. has a twelve month low of $204.27 and a twelve month high of $321.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $651.46 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 15.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.06%.

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.