Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) Holdings Boosted by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its holdings in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,259 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Eagle Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,085,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its position in Eagle Materials by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 89,090 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $18,071,000 after acquiring an additional 10,514 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter worth $1,988,000. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 4.1% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 9,081 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,512,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 2,075 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Eagle Materials

In related news, Director David B. Powers sold 3,347 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.52, for a total transaction of $805,020.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 655 shares in the company, valued at $157,540.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Eagle Materials news, EVP Matt Newby sold 2,940 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total transaction of $738,381.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,819 shares in the company, valued at $5,479,841.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David B. Powers sold 3,347 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $157,540.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,090 shares of company stock valued at $2,401,577. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Eagle Materials stock traded up $2.45 during trading on Friday, hitting $256.38. The stock had a trading volume of 76,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 294,577. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $8.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.92 and a beta of 1.34. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 1 year low of $143.95 and a 1 year high of $272.72. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $255.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $213.95.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The construction company reported $3.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by $0.16. Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 40.05% and a net margin of 22.24%. The company had revenue of $558.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $537.23 million. On average, research analysts expect that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors 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 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on EXP shares. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $240.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. StockNews.com cut Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Eagle Materials from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $238.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $170.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $263.50.

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.