Nomura Holdings Inc. Buys Shares of 4,451 Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,451 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,098,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,801,532 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $444,546,000 after buying an additional 66,399 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Eagle Materials by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 722,995 shares of the construction company's stock worth $178,450,000 after purchasing an additional 15,388 shares in the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA grew its stake in Eagle Materials by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 638,223 shares of the construction company's stock worth $157,488,000 after purchasing an additional 137,950 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Eagle Materials by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 594,899 shares of the construction company's stock worth $146,797,000 after purchasing an additional 55,578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its stake in Eagle Materials by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 592,069 shares of the construction company's stock worth $146,099,000 after purchasing an additional 13,988 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on EXP shares. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Eagle Materials from $245.00 to $237.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Eagle Materials from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Eagle Materials from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $241.00 target price on Eagle Materials and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Eagle Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $260.00.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

Shares of EXP stock traded up $1.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $214.77. 316,775 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 337,780. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 1 year low of $201.61 and a 1 year high of $321.93. The company has a market cap of $7.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34 and a beta of 1.36. The company's 50 day moving average is $223.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $246.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The construction company reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.34 by ($0.26). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 20.91% and a return on equity of 34.14%. The firm had revenue of $470.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $483.14 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.24 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Eagle Materials's payout ratio is currently 7.27%.

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.