O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,644 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 626 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $1,639,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of EXP. Private Trust Co. NA grew 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 valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials during the 4th quarter worth $81,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 569 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted 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 last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Eagle Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $170,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Eagle Materials

In other news, Director Michael R. Nicolais bought 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $257.36 per share, for a total transaction of $79,781.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,655 shares in the company, valued at $940,650.80. The trade was a 9.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on EXP. Citigroup downgraded Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $334.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $280.00 to $245.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $242.00 target price on the stock. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $279.40.

Eagle Materials Trading Down 4.9 %

NYSE:EXP opened at $217.54 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54 and a beta of 1.37. Eagle Materials Inc. has a one year low of $205.44 and a one year 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $233.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $263.89.

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

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Eagle Materials’s dividend 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.