Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in Eagle Materials Inc $EXP

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group acquired 11,600 Eagle Materials shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $2.61 million. Other major investors, including BlackRock and Norges Bank, also established new positions, and institutions now own 96.07% of the stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook: one analyst rates Eagle Materials a Buy and nine rate it Hold, producing a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $223.67.
• Eagle Materials reported quarterly revenue of $650.97 million, above estimates, but earnings per share of $3.29 missed consensus by $0.08. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, equal to a 0.5% annualized yield.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 11,600 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $2,610,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EXP. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Eagle Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $688,486,000. W1M Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials during the second quarter worth $155,199,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials during the second quarter worth $129,760,000. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials during the fourth quarter worth $103,778,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $90,147,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eagle Materials news, SVP Tony Thompson sold 3,074 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.96, for a total value of $626,973.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,142 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,068,562.32. This trade represents a 23.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EXP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. DA Davidson started coverage on Eagle Materials in a research report on Monday, August 24th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $208.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Eagle Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $223.67.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

Shares of EXP opened at $197.88 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $211.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $208.40. Eagle Materials Inc has a 12-month low of $171.99 and a 12-month high of $245.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a PE ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 3.23 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.37 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $650.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.35 million. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 17.32% and a return on equity of 26.87%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.76 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Eagle Materials Inc will post 12.66 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Investors of record on Monday, September 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Eagle Materials's dividend payout ratio is 7.91%.

Eagle Materials Company Profile

Eagle Materials Inc NYSE: EXP is a Dallas, Texas–based manufacturer of building materials serving construction and heavy industry markets across the United States. The company's primary products include portland and masonry cements, gypsum wallboard, lightweight aggregate, paperboard packaging, and roofing granules. These product lines support a wide range of end uses—from residential and commercial buildings to infrastructure projects and industrial applications.

Since its spin-off from a major homebuilding company in 2004, Eagle Materials has grown through targeted facility expansions and strategic acquisitions.

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