Baupost Group LLC MA Increases Position in Eagle Materials Inc $EXP

Key Points

• Baupost Group LLC MA increased its stake in Eagle Materials Inc by 42.5%, now owning 909,633 shares, making it the 8th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Eagle Materials reported $3.76 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue of $634.69 million for the last quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, translating into an annualized yield of 0.4%, with the dividend payout ratio at 7.36%.

Baupost Group LLC MA raised its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP - Free Report) by 42.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 909,633 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 271,410 shares during the period. Eagle Materials accounts for 5.8% of Baupost Group LLC MA's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Baupost Group LLC MA owned approximately 2.73% of Eagle Materials worth $201,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 18.8% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,140,621 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $475,068,000 after purchasing an additional 339,089 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 193.4% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 288,123 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $63,944,000 after acquiring an additional 189,909 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 26,787.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 181,761 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $40,338,000 after acquiring an additional 181,085 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 111.1% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 331,081 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $73,477,000 after acquiring an additional 174,241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 165.0% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 206,019 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $45,722,000 after acquiring an additional 128,271 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company's stock.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

Shares of EXP traded down $4.91 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $230.62. 250,995 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 395,821. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Eagle Materials Inc 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 $220.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $220.70. The company has a market cap of $7.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.98 and a beta of 1.24.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $3.76 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $634.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $611.52 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials Inc will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EXP. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $279.00 to $230.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $242.00 target price on shares of Eagle Materials and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their target price 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $254.78.

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.