Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Sell”

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $240.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $232.00 to $224.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (down from $280.00) on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $228.82.

Eagle Materials Stock Up 2.0%

Eagle Materials stock opened at $201.44 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $203.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $215.01. Eagle Materials has a fifty-two week low of $171.99 and a fifty-two week high of $243.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.25 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 4.27 and a quick ratio of 2.68.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.32 by ($0.10). Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 28.96% and a net margin of 18.70%.The firm had revenue of $555.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $556.41 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.59 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eagle Materials will post 14.39 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is presently 7.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eagle Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXP. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in Eagle Materials by 21.5% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,019 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 102.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 5.8% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 101,969 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $20,609,000 after purchasing an additional 5,612 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 8.0% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,364 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 359.9% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 12,510 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,528,000 after purchasing an additional 9,790 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.