Monument Capital Management Raises Stake in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Monument Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,083 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 141 shares during the quarter. Monument Capital Management’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $2,982,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 878,400 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 60.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,735,133 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $499,111,000 after purchasing an additional 652,836 shares in the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA increased its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 46.2% in the third quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 500,273 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $143,904,000 after purchasing an additional 158,171 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the third quarter worth $34,846,000. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Eagle Materials during the third quarter valued at $22,552,000. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael R. Nicolais acquired 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $257.36 per share, for a total transaction of $79,781.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $940,650.80. This trade represents a 9.27 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Haack sold 11,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.50, for a total value of $3,691,224.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 85,811 shares in the company, valued at $26,644,315.50. This represents a 12.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

EXP opened at $252.47 on Monday. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 12-month low of $211.44 and a 12-month high of $321.93. The company has a market cap of $8.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.03 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. The company’s 50 day moving average is $254.52 and its 200 day moving average is $271.05.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.97 by ($0.38). Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 20.91%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EXP. Loop Capital lowered Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup lowered shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $334.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Eagle Materials from $277.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.80.

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.