Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $245.53 and last traded at $243.1550, with a volume of 47034 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $233.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EXP. Citigroup lowered their price target on Eagle Materials from $224.00 to $217.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Eagle Materials from $240.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Eagle Materials from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Eagle Materials from $208.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $224.30.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 2.1%

The company has a market capitalization of $7.37 billion, a PE ratio of 18.19 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 3.66 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The company’s fifty day moving average is $210.21 and its 200-day moving average is $211.55.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 19th. The construction company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.32. Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 28.27% and a net margin of 18.36%.The business had revenue of $479.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $451.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials Inc will post 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eagle Materials

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXP. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Eagle Materials by 1,671.4% in the fourth quarter. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. now owns 12,400 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,563,000 after buying an additional 11,700 shares during the last quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $1,321,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 743.8% during the third quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 34,317 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,997,000 after acquiring an additional 30,250 shares during the last quarter. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $103,778,000. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 99,319 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $23,145,000 after purchasing an additional 13,147 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.