Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $245.53 and last traded at $243.1550, with a volume of 47034 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $233.65.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on EXP shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $224.00 to $217.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Eagle Materials from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $240.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eagle Materials has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $224.30.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 3.66 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $211.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $211.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.82 and a beta of 1.37.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 19th. The construction company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.32. Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 28.27% and a net margin of 18.36%.The firm had revenue of $479.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $451.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. Eagle Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Eagle Materials Inc will post 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EXP. Baupost Group LLC MA grew its stake in Eagle Materials by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,185,248 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $244,967,000 after purchasing an additional 245,588 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Eagle Materials by 2.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 627,427 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $118,846,000 after buying an additional 16,782 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 615,250 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $143,378,000 after buying an additional 3,505 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 534,380 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $124,532,000 after buying an additional 13,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Black Creek Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $103,778,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Materials Company Profile

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.