Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires New Position in Eagle Materials Inc $EXP

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 9,100 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,724,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Baupost Group LLC MA boosted its position in Eagle Materials by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,185,248 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $244,967,000 after buying an additional 245,588 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 610,645 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $126,217,000 after acquiring an additional 7,749 shares during the period. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $103,778,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $90,147,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 4.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 363,508 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $84,712,000 after purchasing an additional 15,899 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on EXP. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Eagle Materials from $224.00 to $217.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Eagle Materials from $240.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Eagle Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $224.30.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

NYSE:EXP opened at $219.67 on Thursday. Eagle Materials Inc has a 12 month low of $171.99 and a 12 month high of $245.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 3.66 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.79 billion, a PE ratio of 16.74 and a beta of 1.37. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $212.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.78.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 19th. The construction company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $479.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $451.99 million. Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 28.27% and a net margin of 18.36%.Eagle Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.00 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials Inc will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is presently 7.62%.

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.