Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Acquires New Stake in Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new position in Eagle Materials, purchasing 57,146 shares valued at approximately $12.68 million, representing about 0.17% ownership in the company.
• Multiple analysts have set price objectives for Eagle Materials, with the average target price being $255.33 and ratings ranging from "buy" to "hold".
• Eagle Materials will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share on October 16th, with an annualized dividend yielding 0.4% and a payout ratio of 7.36%.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new position in Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 57,146 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $12,682,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned 0.17% of Eagle Materials as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Eagle Materials by 26,787.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 181,761 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $40,338,000 after acquiring an additional 181,085 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 111.1% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 331,081 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $73,477,000 after purchasing an additional 174,241 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $38,115,000. Baupost Group LLC MA increased its stake in Eagle Materials by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 638,223 shares of the construction company's stock worth $157,488,000 after buying an additional 137,950 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 165.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 206,019 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $45,722,000 after buying an additional 128,271 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EXP. Stephens set a $255.00 target price on shares of Eagle Materials and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Eagle Materials from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Loop Capital raised their price target on Eagle Materials from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $279.00 to $230.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $242.00 target price on shares of Eagle Materials and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $255.33.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

Shares of EXP traded down $3.54 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $221.63. The company had a trading volume of 71,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 403,842. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31 and a beta of 1.24. Eagle Materials Inc has a 52-week low of $191.91 and a 52-week high of $321.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $211.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $222.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $3.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.03. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 19.81% and a return on equity of 31.21%. The company had revenue of $634.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $611.52 million. On average, analysts expect that Eagle Materials Inc will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Eagle Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.36%.

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.