Markel Group Inc. Takes Position in Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP)

Markel Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,500 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $777,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,420 shares of the construction company's stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Eagle Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $952,000. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in Eagle Materials by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,045 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,492,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,252 shares of the construction company's stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $473,000. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company's stock.

Eagle Materials Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of EXP stock traded down $0.84 during trading on Friday, hitting $215.16. 253,445 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 353,552. Eagle Materials Inc has a 52-week low of $191.91 and a 52-week high of $321.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 1.26. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $211.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $225.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The construction company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $470.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $483.14 million. Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 32.71% and a net margin of 20.50%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.24 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Eagle Materials Inc will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Eagle Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EXP. Stephens set a $255.00 target price on shares of Eagle Materials and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Truist Financial cut their target price on Eagle Materials from $330.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $279.00 to $230.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen cut Eagle Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $241.00 price target on Eagle Materials and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eagle Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $254.44.

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.