Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,800 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,988,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $1,085,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 89,090 shares of the construction company's stock worth $18,071,000 after buying an additional 10,514 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 4.1% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 9,081 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,512,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 185.6% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 3,193 shares of the construction company's stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 2,075 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Eagle Materials by 1.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 329,032 shares of the construction company's stock worth $54,790,000 after acquiring an additional 5,609 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company's stock.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EXP traded down $2.65 on Thursday, hitting $242.20. The stock had a trading volume of 241,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 295,075. The company has a market capitalization of $8.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.09 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 2.61. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $255.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.08. Eagle Materials Inc. has a twelve month low of $143.39 and a twelve month high of $272.72.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The construction company reported $3.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.56 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $558.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $537.23 million. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 22.24% and a return on equity of 40.05%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Eagle Materials's payout ratio is presently 7.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Dale Craig Kesler sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.60, for a total transaction of $1,078,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,498,716. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Dale Craig Kesler sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David B. Powers sold 3,347 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.52, for a total value of $805,020.44. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $157,540.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,444 shares of company stock worth $4,414,889. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on EXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $200.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com cut Eagle Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Eagle Materials from $170.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on Eagle Materials from $244.00 to $311.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $238.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eagle Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $257.00.

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; 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.