Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) Short Interest Update

Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,390,000 shares, a growth of 43.0% from the February 28th total of 971,700 shares. Currently, 4.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 354,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Eagle Materials in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $242.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup cut Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $334.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $286.40.

Eagle Materials Stock Down 2.1 %

EXP stock traded down $4.81 during trading on Friday, hitting $221.02. 204,365 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 317,918. The stock has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79 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 has a 1 year low of $205.44 and a 1 year high of $321.93. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $236.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $265.50.

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 net margin of 20.91% and a return on equity of 34.14%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials will post 14.39 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is 7.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael R. Nicolais acquired 310 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $257.36 per share, with a total value of $79,781.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $940,650.80. This represents a 9.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Eagle Materials by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 205 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 154.8% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 237 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $81,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 233.1% during the fourth quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC now owns 443 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Eagle Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $125,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

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.