JPMorgan Chase & Co. Acquires 66,399 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,801,532 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 66,399 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 5.41% of Eagle Materials worth $444,546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Eagle Materials by 78.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,948 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $10,915,000 after purchasing an additional 16,645 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,890,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 242.4% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,789 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,922,000 after acquiring an additional 5,514 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Eagle Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,115,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Eagle Materials by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,924 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,679 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

Shares of EXP opened at $221.02 on Friday. Eagle Materials Inc. has a one year low of $205.44 and a one year high of $321.93. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $236.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $265.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.79 and a beta of 1.37.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released its 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, analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given 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 of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eagle Materials news, Director Michael R. Nicolais acquired 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $257.36 per share, for a total transaction of $79,781.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,655 shares in the company, valued at $940,650.80. This trade represents a 9.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.