Eagle Materials Inc $EXP Shares Purchased by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC significantly increased its investment in Eagle Materials Inc, raising its holdings by 288.8% during the first quarter to a total of 3,783 shares worth approximately $829,000.
• Several institutional investors also boosted their stakes in Eagle Materials, contributing to over 96% of shares currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed views on Eagle Materials, with target prices ranging from $230.00 to $279.00, and a consensus rating of "Hold."

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP - Free Report) by 288.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,783 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 2,810 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $829,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 286,766 shares of the construction company's stock worth $70,762,000 after purchasing an additional 23,355 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials during the 4th quarter worth $619,000. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials during the 4th quarter worth $28,778,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,282 shares of the construction company's stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 365,330 shares of the construction company's stock worth $90,149,000 after purchasing an additional 15,574 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on EXP. Wall Street Zen upgraded Eagle Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $241.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $242.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eagle Materials has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $254.78.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EXP traded down $1.11 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $223.86. The stock had a trading volume of 293,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 394,094. Eagle Materials Inc has a 12-month low of $191.91 and a 12-month high of $321.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.48 and a beta of 1.28. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $219.85.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $3.76 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $634.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $611.52 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Eagle Materials Inc will post 14.39 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Eagle Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.