Freedom Investment Management Inc. Sells 1,260 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 63.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 738 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,260 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EXP. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 30.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,801,257 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,093,432,000 after purchasing an additional 878,400 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Eagle Materials by 25.2% during the 2nd quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 805,257 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $175,111,000 after acquiring an additional 162,049 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Eagle Materials by 33.4% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 529,701 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $115,189,000 after acquiring an additional 132,677 shares during the period. Baupost Group LLC MA increased its position in Eagle Materials by 30.6% in the 2nd quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 342,102 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $74,394,000 after acquiring an additional 80,102 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 24.0% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 293,730 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $84,491,000 after acquiring an additional 56,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on EXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Eagle Materials from $309.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Loop Capital lowered Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $277.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eagle Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $307.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director George John Damiris sold 1,000 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.62, for a total value of $277,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,205,135.66. This trade represents a 11.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tony Thompson sold 1,401 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.00, for a total transaction of $439,914.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,212 shares in the company, valued at $4,148,568. This trade represents a 9.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,866 shares of company stock worth $5,482,931. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

Eagle Materials stock opened at $308.92 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.82 and a beta of 1.32. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 52-week low of $178.42 and a 52-week high of $321.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 2.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $296.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $260.20.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $4.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.75 by ($0.44). Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 35.79% and a net margin of 21.32%. The company had revenue of $623.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $651.46 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 15.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.06%.

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.