Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires 680 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 40,574 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $11,025,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 79.2% during the 1st quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 95 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EXP. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $250.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $270.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $297.00 to $252.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $300.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eagle Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $281.00.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

Shares of EXP stock traded up $10.45 on Friday, reaching $246.07. The stock had a trading volume of 597,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 350,455. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $227.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $240.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 1.32. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.03 and a 12 month high of $276.61.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 21st. The construction company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.48). The firm 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 21.14% and a return on equity of 37.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.79 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 15.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.34%.

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, 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.