Advisors Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,983 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,732 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.10% of Eagle Materials worth $8,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 53.0% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 205 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter worth $81,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 569 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 10.6% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $170,000. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eagle Materials

In other news, Director Michael R. Nicolais acquired 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $257.36 per share, for a total transaction of $79,781.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $940,650.80. This trade represents a 9.27 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on EXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $242.00 price objective for the company. Loop Capital cut Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $330.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $292.40.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

Shares of Eagle Materials stock opened at $214.83 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 52 week low of $205.44 and a 52 week high of $321.93. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $239.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $266.79. The company has a market capitalization of $7.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35 and a beta of 1.37.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.59 EPS 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid 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 0.47%. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is 7.14%.

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.