Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Reaches New 52-Week Low - Should You Sell?

Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $195.41 and last traded at $196.66, with a volume of 17017 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $198.17.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on EXP shares. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $242.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $330.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eagle Materials has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $254.44.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $218.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $237.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $6.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47 and a beta of 1.28.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report) last issued 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). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 20.91% and a return on equity of 34.14%. The company had revenue of $470.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $483.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.24 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Eagle Materials

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 339,089 shares during the period. Baupost Group LLC MA boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 271,410 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 15,388 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 55,578 shares during the period. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 13,988 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company's stock.

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.