Optimize Financial Inc Purchases New Shares in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Optimize Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,001 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EXP. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Eagle Materials by 53.0% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 205 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 154.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 237 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 676 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Eagle Materials from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Eagle Materials in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $242.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $334.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $279.40.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 3.1 %

EXP opened at $223.27 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $227.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $260.63. The firm has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.95 and a beta of 1.25. Eagle Materials Inc. has a twelve month low of $201.61 and a twelve month 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.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.14%.

Insider Activity at Eagle Materials

In related news, Director Michael R. Nicolais acquired 310 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $257.36 per share, with a total value of $79,781.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,655 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.