Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Sells 22,772 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 37.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 37,494 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 22,772 shares during the quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $9,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 53.0% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 205 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Eagle Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $64,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Eagle Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 569 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 676 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eagle Materials

In other Eagle Materials news, Director Michael R. Nicolais bought 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $257.36 per share, for a total transaction of $79,781.60. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $940,650.80. The trade was a 9.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on EXP shares. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $330.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $292.40.

Eagle Materials Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE EXP opened at $215.21 on Wednesday. Eagle Materials Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.02 and a fifty-two week high of $321.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 2.76. The company has a market cap of $7.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37 and a beta of 1.37. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $246.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $269.71.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.97 by ($0.38). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 20.91% and a return on equity of 34.14%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is currently 7.14%.

Eagle Materials 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.