Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) Position Lessened by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lowered its position in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 84.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,466 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 8,172 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 34.6% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 21,828 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,279,000 after buying an additional 5,614 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in Eagle Materials in the third quarter worth approximately $241,000. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in Eagle Materials by 60.0% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 2,293 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $660,000 after acquiring an additional 860 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $206,000. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $713,000. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eagle Materials Stock Up 0.4 %

EXP opened at $221.89 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $235.73 and a 200-day moving average of $265.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 1-year low of $205.44 and a 1-year high of $321.93.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.97 by ($0.38). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 20.91% and a return on equity of 34.14%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.14%.

Insider Activity at Eagle Materials

In other Eagle Materials news, Director Michael R. Nicolais purchased 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $257.36 per share, for a total transaction of $79,781.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $940,650.80. This represents a 9.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Eagle Materials from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup cut Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $334.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $286.40.

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, including Portland limestone 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, as well as well as containerboard and lightweight packaging grades; manufacture and sale of recycled paperboard to the gypsum wallboard industry and other paperboard converters; the sale of readymix concrete; and mining and sale of aggregates, such as crushed stone, sand, and gravel.