Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Reaches New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $279.00 to $230.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Eagle Materials traded as low as $200.78 and last traded at $203.13, with a volume of 246970 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $203.29.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $245.00 to $237.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $241.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stephens set a $255.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Eagle Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $254.44.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 60.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,735,133 shares of the construction company's stock worth $499,111,000 after purchasing an additional 652,836 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Eagle Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $93,672,000. Baupost Group LLC MA lifted its stake in Eagle Materials by 42.5% in the 1st quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 909,633 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $201,875,000 after purchasing an additional 271,410 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Eagle Materials by 193.4% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 288,123 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $63,944,000 after purchasing an additional 189,909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Eagle Materials by 26,787.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 181,761 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $40,338,000 after purchasing an additional 181,085 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company's stock.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

The company's 50 day moving average price is $222.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $243.87. The stock has a market cap of $6.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.44 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The construction company reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.34 by ($0.26). Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 20.91%. The firm had revenue of $470.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $483.14 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.24 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Eagle Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.27%.

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.