Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. Acquires 30,880 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP)

Key Points

• Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Eagle Materials Inc by 28.8%, acquiring an additional 30,880 shares, bringing its total ownership to 138,270 shares.
• Several other institutional investors have also increased their stakes in Eagle Materials, with significant boosts from companies like Bridges Investment Management Inc. and Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
• Analysts have set varied price targets for Eagle Materials, with Citigroup lowering its target from $279 to $230, while others maintain buy ratings with targets around $245.

Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP - Free Report) by 28.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 138,270 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 30,880 shares during the period. Eagle Materials makes up 2.2% of Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. owned about 0.42% of Eagle Materials worth $30,686,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 111.4% during the 1st quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,918 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,535,000 after buying an additional 3,645 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 234.6% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 4,905 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 3,439 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 819 shares of the construction company's stock worth $182,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Hi Line Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Eagle Materials in the 1st quarter worth $4,770,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 39.0% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 285 shares of the construction company's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup cut their target price on Eagle Materials from $279.00 to $230.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Eagle Materials from $330.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $241.00 price objective on Eagle Materials and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $242.00 price objective on Eagle Materials and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Eagle Materials from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eagle Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $255.33.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE EXP opened at $225.29 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.59 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $211.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $222.88. Eagle Materials Inc has a 12 month low of $191.91 and a 12 month high of $321.93. 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 (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $634.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $611.52 million. Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 31.21% and a net margin of 19.81%. On average, analysts predict that Eagle Materials Inc will post 14.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Eagle Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.

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