Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on EXP. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $246.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Stephens cut their price objective on Eagle Materials from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Eagle Materials from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $226.00.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of EXP opened at $221.30 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 3.66 and a quick ratio of 2.09. Eagle Materials has a 1 year low of $171.99 and a 1 year high of $245.53. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $214.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.10. The firm has a market cap of $6.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.87 and a beta of 1.37.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.37 by ($0.08). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 18.36% and a return on equity of 28.27%. The company had revenue of $650.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.35 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Eagle Materials will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EXP. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec raised its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 3.6% in the third quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 1,426 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 389 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in Eagle Materials by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,406 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Eagle Materials by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,015 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Eagle Materials by 7.0% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,294 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

About Eagle Materials

Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) is a Dallas, Texas–based manufacturer of building materials serving construction and heavy industry markets across the United States. The company’s primary products include portland and masonry cements, gypsum wallboard, lightweight aggregate, paperboard packaging, and roofing granules. These product lines support a wide range of end uses—from residential and commercial buildings to infrastructure projects and industrial applications.

Since its spin-off from a major homebuilding company in 2004, Eagle Materials has grown through targeted facility expansions and strategic acquisitions.