State of Alaska Department of Revenue Cuts Position in Eagle Materials Inc $EXP

Key Points

• State of Alaska Department of Revenue trimmed its position by 81.5%, selling 13,877 shares and now holding 3,142 shares of Eagle Materials worth about $649,000; overall institutional ownership remains very high at 96.07%.
• Analysts have grown cautious—several firms cut price targets and ratings (including a downgrade to "sell" from Wall Street Zen and an "underweight" from JPMorgan), leaving a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $228.82.
• Recent results showed a modest miss (Q4 EPS $3.22 vs. $3.32 estimate) with revenue down 0.4% year-over-year; the stock trades near $208, has a PE of ~15.8, and pays a $0.25 quarterly dividend (0.5% yield).

State of Alaska Department of Revenue trimmed its position in shares of Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP - Free Report) by 81.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,142 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 13,877 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 130.9% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 127 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Eagle Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in Eagle Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Eagle Materials by 102.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Eagle Materials during the third quarter worth about $49,000. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Eagle Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $215.00 target price (down from $230.00) on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Monday, February 16th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $232.00 to $224.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $228.82.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Eagle Materials stock opened at $208.46 on Friday. Eagle Materials Inc has a one year low of $171.99 and a one year high of $243.64. The company has a market cap of $6.55 billion, a PE ratio of 15.78 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 4.27. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $201.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $214.38.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.32 by ($0.10). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 18.70% and a return on equity of 28.96%. The firm had revenue of $555.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $556.41 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.59 EPS. The firm's revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Eagle Materials Inc will post 12.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Eagle Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.57%.

About Eagle Materials

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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