Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Stephens upped their target price on Eagle Materials from $250.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Eagle Materials from $200.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Eagle Materials from $238.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Eagle Materials from $244.00 to $311.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on Eagle Materials from $170.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.00.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

Shares of EXP opened at $238.80 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.85 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 2.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $258.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $227.62. Eagle Materials has a 52 week low of $145.03 and a 52 week high of $276.61.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 21st. The construction company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.48). The business had revenue of $476.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $480.20 million. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 22.24% and a return on equity of 40.05%. The business’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Eagle Materials will post 14.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eagle Materials news, EVP Matt Newby sold 2,940 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total transaction of $738,381.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,819 shares in the company, valued at $5,479,841.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Eagle Materials during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its position in Eagle Materials by 79.2% during the first quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 95 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Eagle Materials during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Eagle Materials during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Eagle Materials during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

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; 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.