Quantbot Technologies LP Takes Position in Eagle Materials Inc $EXP

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,829 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $862,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Eagle Materials by 5,116.3% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 25,612 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,852,000 after acquiring an additional 25,121 shares in the last quarter. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 1,671.4% during the 4th quarter. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. now owns 12,400 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,563,000 after purchasing an additional 11,700 shares in the last quarter. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the 4th quarter worth $103,778,000. Redwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eagle Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,080,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 627,427 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $118,846,000 after purchasing an additional 16,782 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

Shares of EXP opened at $200.45 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 3.23. The company has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $212.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.67. Eagle Materials Inc has a 1 year low of $171.99 and a 1 year high of $245.53.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.37 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $650.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $620.35 million. Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 26.87% and a net margin of 17.32%.The firm’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.76 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Eagle Materials Inc will post 12.66 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 14th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 14th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Tony Thompson sold 3,074 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.96, for a total transaction of $626,973.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,562.32. This represents a 23.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on EXP. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Eagle Materials from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Eagle Materials from $208.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on Eagle Materials in a report on Monday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $220.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $223.67.

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.