Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

EXP has been the subject of several other research reports. Raymond James raised their target price on Eagle Materials from $170.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Loop Capital raised Eagle Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Eagle Materials from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Eagle Materials from $200.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eagle Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $242.20.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

Shares of Eagle Materials stock traded down $6.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $253.12. 343,452 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 297,753. The business has a 50-day moving average of $253.65 and a 200 day moving average of $207.87. Eagle Materials has a fifty-two week low of $140.37 and a fifty-two week high of $272.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.72 billion, a PE ratio of 17.86 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The construction company reported $3.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.56 by $0.16. Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 40.05% and a net margin of 22.24%. The firm had revenue of $558.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $537.23 million. On average, analysts predict that Eagle Materials will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Dale Craig Kesler sold 5,000 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.60, for a total transaction of $1,078,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,610 shares in the company, valued at $13,498,716. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Matt Newby sold 2,940 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total value of $738,381.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,479,841.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Dale Craig Kesler sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.60, for a total value of $1,078,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,498,716. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,444 shares of company stock valued at $4,414,889 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,841,414 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $411,723,000 after purchasing an additional 110,695 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,510,906 shares of the construction company's stock worth $418,116,000 after acquiring an additional 730,454 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,097,542 shares of the construction company's stock worth $182,763,000 after acquiring an additional 203,862 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,056,912 shares of the construction company's stock worth $135,929,000 after acquiring an additional 3,684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,053,983 shares of the construction company's stock worth $140,022,000 after acquiring an additional 58,727 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company's stock.

Eagle Materials Company 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; 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.