Vanguard Group Inc. Has $750.11 Million Position in Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Eagle Materials by 3.9%, selling 136,276 shares and retaining 3,379,953 shares, worth approximately $750 million.
• Several hedge funds, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Principal Financial Group Inc., significantly increased their stakes in Eagle Materials during the first quarter.
• Eagle Materials reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $3.76, surpassing analysts' estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 to be paid on October 16th.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its position in Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP - Free Report) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,379,953 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 136,276 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.15% of Eagle Materials worth $750,113,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $12,682,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 18.5% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,105 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $911,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 10.7% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,755 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. 12th Street Asset Management Company LLC increased its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 1.5% during the first quarter. 12th Street Asset Management Company LLC now owns 42,693 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $9,475,000 after acquiring an additional 628 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 86.6% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 43,011 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $9,545,000 after acquiring an additional 19,960 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on EXP. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. 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 note on Wednesday, May 21st. Stephens set a $255.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup decreased their price target 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $241.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $255.33.

Eagle Materials Trading Down 0.5%

Eagle Materials stock traded down $1.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $233.70. The stock had a trading volume of 264,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 417,683. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $214.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $221.73. Eagle Materials Inc has a twelve month low of $191.91 and a twelve month high of $321.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $7.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21 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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $611.52 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials Inc will post 14.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Eagle Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.