Royal Bank of Canada Sells 7,956 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc $EXP

Royal Bank of Canada reduced its position in shares of Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) by 22.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,213 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 7,956 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.09% of Eagle Materials worth $5,155,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EXP. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 5,116.3% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 25,612 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,852,000 after purchasing an additional 25,121 shares during the period. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Eagle Materials by 1,671.4% during the fourth quarter. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. now owns 12,400 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,563,000 after buying an additional 11,700 shares during the period. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $103,778,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 2.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 627,427 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $118,846,000 after buying an additional 16,782 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Eagle Materials by 82.5% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,295 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,021,000 after acquiring an additional 10,980 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EXP opened at $210.22 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $214.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $209.63. The firm has a market cap of $6.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.62 and a beta of 1.38. Eagle Materials Inc has a 52 week low of $171.99 and a 52 week high of $245.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

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

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on EXP shares. Stephens increased their price objective on Eagle Materials from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Eagle Materials from $208.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Eagle Materials from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $240.00 to $232.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eagle Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $222.56.

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.