Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Hits New 52-Week Low - What's Next?

Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $193.25 and last traded at $193.45, with a volume of 320524 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $197.27.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on EXP. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $242.00 target price on Eagle Materials and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $241.00 target price on Eagle Materials and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Eagle Materials from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Eagle Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $254.44.

Eagle Materials Stock Up 1.0%

The company has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $216.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.49.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The construction company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.34 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $470.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $483.14 million. Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 32.71% and a net margin of 20.50%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.24 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials Inc will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Eagle Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.27%.

Institutional Trading of Eagle Materials

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Eagle Materials by 18.8% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,140,621 shares of the construction company's stock worth $475,068,000 after acquiring an additional 339,089 shares during the period. Baupost Group LLC MA grew its holdings in Eagle Materials by 42.5% during the 1st quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 909,633 shares of the construction company's stock worth $201,875,000 after acquiring an additional 271,410 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Eagle Materials by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 722,995 shares of the construction company's stock worth $178,450,000 after acquiring an additional 15,388 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Eagle Materials by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 594,899 shares of the construction company's stock worth $146,797,000 after acquiring an additional 55,578 shares during the period. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Eagle Materials by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 592,069 shares of the construction company's stock worth $146,099,000 after acquiring an additional 13,988 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.