Kennedy Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP - Free Report) by 11.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,539 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 11,204 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.26% of Eagle Materials worth $21,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EXP. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 53.0% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 205 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Eagle Materials by 154.8% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 237 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Eagle Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $81,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Eagle Materials by 10.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 676 shares of the construction company's stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EXP. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Eagle Materials from $280.00 to $245.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $279.40.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

Shares of EXP traded down $2.36 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $224.59. 93,319 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 330,343. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 1 year low of $201.61 and a 1 year high of $321.93. The company has a market cap of $7.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.04 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $226.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $260.04.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.59 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Eagle Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.14%.

Insider Activity at Eagle Materials

In other Eagle Materials news, Director Michael R. Nicolais purchased 310 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $257.36 per share, with a total value of $79,781.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,655 shares of the company's stock, valued at $940,650.80. The trade was a 9.27 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Eagle Materials Company 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.