Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Sells 36,037 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc $EXP

Key Points

• Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. significantly reduced its holdings in Eagle Materials by 96.1% in the first quarter, owning only 1,457 shares after selling 36,037 shares.
• Eagle Materials reported an EPS of $3.76 for the last quarter, slightly exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue of $634.69 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, with an annualized dividend of $1.00 and a yield of 0.4% scheduled for October 16th.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. decreased its position in Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP - Free Report) by 96.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,457 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 36,037 shares during the quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 22.9% during the first quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 1,916 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $425,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the period. CCM Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Eagle Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $478,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Eagle Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $17,617,000. Entropy Technologies LP raised its holdings in Eagle Materials by 276.0% during the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 11,272 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,502,000 after purchasing an additional 8,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Eagle Materials by 28.8% during the 1st quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 138,270 shares of the construction company's stock worth $30,686,000 after purchasing an additional 30,880 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EXP. Stephens set a $255.00 price objective on Eagle Materials and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $279.00 to $230.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $242.00 price objective on Eagle Materials and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Eagle Materials from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Eagle Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eagle Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $255.33.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

EXP stock traded down $0.4370 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $225.7830. The company's stock had a trading volume of 50,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 397,996. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $216.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $221.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Eagle Materials Inc has a 1 year low of $191.91 and a 1 year high of $321.93. The stock has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.70 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 7.36%.

Eagle Materials 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.