Analyzing Eagle Materials (EXP) & Its Rivals

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) is one of 74 publicly-traded companies in the “Construction Materials” industry, but how does it contrast to its peers? We will compare Eagle Materials to similar businesses based on the strength of its dividends, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Eagle Materials and its peers revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Eagle Materials	$2.31 billion	$423.81 million	15.64
Eagle Materials Competitors	$6.78 billion	$651.37 million	26.94

Eagle Materials’ peers have higher revenue and earnings than Eagle Materials. Eagle Materials is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Dividends

Eagle Materials pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Eagle Materials pays out 7.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Construction Materials” companies pay a dividend yield of 179.6% and pay out 31.6% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Profitability

This table compares Eagle Materials and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Eagle Materials	17.32%	26.87%	10.73%
Eagle Materials Competitors	4.49%	7.93%	4.94%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

96.1% of Eagle Materials shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 46.5% of shares of all “Construction Materials” companies are held by institutional investors. 1.7% of Eagle Materials shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 10.0% of shares of all “Construction Materials” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Eagle Materials and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Eagle Materials	0	9	1	0	2.10
Eagle Materials Competitors	407	2069	2844	86	2.48

Eagle Materials currently has a consensus price target of $223.67, suggesting a potential upside of 13.03%. As a group, “Construction Materials” companies have a potential upside of 451.11%. Given Eagle Materials’ peers stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Eagle Materials has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Risk & Volatility

Eagle Materials has a beta of 1.38, suggesting that its stock price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Eagle Materials’ peers have a beta of 0.89, suggesting that their average stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Eagle Materials peers beat Eagle Materials on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

About Eagle Materials

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. Its products are used in commercial and residential construction; public construction projects to build, expand, and repair roads and highways; and repair and remodel activities. The company was formerly known as Centex Construction Products, Inc. and changed its name to Eagle Materials, Inc. in January 2004. Eagle Materials Inc. was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.