Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Stock Rating Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

EXP has been the topic of several other research reports. Zacks Research downgraded Eagle Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Citigroup raised their target price on Eagle Materials from $190.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Eagle Materials from $188.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. DA Davidson set a $195.00 target price on Eagle Materials in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Eagle Materials has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $193.33.

Eagle Materials Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE EXP opened at $186.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.46 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 3.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Eagle Materials has a 52-week low of $160.02 and a 52-week high of $245.53. The business’s 50 day moving average is $179.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $201.79.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The construction company reported $3.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.82 by ($0.19). Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 25.16% and a net margin of 16.11%. The firm had revenue of $652.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $633.08 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Eagle Materials will post 11.71 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 14th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Eagle Materials’s payout ratio is 8.30%.

Insider Activity at Eagle Materials

In other news, SVP Tony Thompson sold 3,074 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.96, for a total transaction of $626,973.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,562.32. This represents a 23.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the third quarter worth about $47,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 131.0% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 432 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Eagle Materials by 23.9% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 519 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in Eagle Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $117,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Eagle Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $124,000. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eagle Materials Company Profile

Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE: EXP) is a U.S.-based manufacturer of building materials used in residential, commercial, infrastructure and industrial construction. The company’s principal products include cement, gypsum wallboard, concrete and aggregates.

Its cement business produces and distributes Portland cement and related cement products, while its gypsum wallboard business supplies panels used in interior construction. Eagle Materials also provides ready-mixed concrete and construction aggregates, including crushed stone, sand and gravel, for building and infrastructure projects.

The company traces its history to Centex Construction Products, which was spun off from Centex Corporation in 1994 and later adopted the Eagle Materials name.