Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Eagle Materials from $245.00 to $237.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stephens set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $279.00 to $230.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $254.44.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

Shares of EXP traded up $1.39 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $204.38. 1,027,988 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 350,649. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Eagle Materials has a 52-week low of $191.91 and a 52-week high of $321.93. The company's 50-day moving average price is $213.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $229.35. The company has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.85 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eagle Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 18.8% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,140,621 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $475,068,000 after buying an additional 339,089 shares in the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA increased its stake in Eagle Materials by 42.5% during the first 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Eagle Materials by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 722,995 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $178,450,000 after purchasing an additional 15,388 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 594,899 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $146,797,000 after purchasing an additional 55,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 592,069 shares of the construction company's stock worth $146,099,000 after purchasing an additional 13,988 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Eagle Materials

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.