Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Stock Crosses Above 50-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) shares crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $180.62 and traded as high as $183.93. Eagle Materials shares last traded at $181.7130, with a volume of 500,836 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on EXP shares. DA Davidson cut their target price on Eagle Materials from $220.00 to $207.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Stephens increased their price objective on Eagle Materials from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Eagle Materials from $232.00 to $207.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $196.00 to $188.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $195.22.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 1.1%

The company has a current ratio of 3.23, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 1.33. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $180.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $202.77.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.37 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $650.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.35 million. Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 26.87% and a net margin of 17.32%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.76 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Eagle Materials Inc will post 11.92 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 14th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eagle Materials news, SVP Tony Thompson sold 3,074 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.96, for a total transaction of $626,973.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,068,562.32. The trade was a 23.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of Eagle Materials in the first quarter valued at about $42,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 131.0% during the 2nd 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 519 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $117,000. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Eagle Materials

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.