Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $492,000 in Eagle Materials Inc $EXP

Key Points

• Arete Wealth Advisors LLC has invested approximately $492,000 in Eagle Materials Inc, acquiring 2,216 shares of the company's stock during the first quarter.
• Analysts have raised price targets for Eagle Materials, with JPMorgan Chase increasing their target from $220 to $245 and Stifel Nicolaus setting a target of $241, reflecting positive ratings for the stock.
• Eagle Materials recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, with the dividend payment scheduled for October 16th to shareholders of record as of September 15th.

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,216 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $492,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,282 shares of the construction company's stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 106.6% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,479 shares of the construction company's stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 23,815 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Eagle Materials by 54.1% in the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 15,368 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,792,000 after purchasing an additional 5,395 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in Eagle Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $415,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Eagle Materials by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 5,163 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,274,000 after buying an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EXP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $220.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $241.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Stephens set a $255.00 target price on Eagle Materials and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $242.00 target price on Eagle Materials and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eagle Materials currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $254.78.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

Eagle Materials stock opened at $231.10 on Thursday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $225.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a PE ratio of 17.02 and a beta of 1.28. Eagle Materials Inc has a twelve month low of $191.91 and a twelve month high of $321.93.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $3.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.03. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 19.81% and a return on equity of 31.21%. The firm had revenue of $634.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.52 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Eagle Materials Inc will post 14.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Eagle Materials's payout ratio is 7.36%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EXP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.