Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Buys 326 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its position in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 32.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,326 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EXP. Weybosset Research & Management LLC increased its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Weybosset Research & Management LLC now owns 34,316 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,468,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in Eagle Materials by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 760 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Eagle Materials by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 676 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 60.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,735,133 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $499,111,000 after buying an additional 652,836 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 198,994 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $57,241,000 after buying an additional 27,397 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eagle Materials

In other Eagle Materials news, CEO Michael Haack sold 11,888 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,644,315.50. This trade represents a 12.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Tony Thompson sold 1,401 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.00, for a total value of $439,914.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,148,568. The trade was a 9.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,866 shares of company stock worth $5,205,311. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EXP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $330.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $277.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Loop Capital cut shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Citigroup lowered shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $334.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $301.44.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

EXP stock opened at $239.37 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 2.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $278.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $266.88. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 52-week low of $197.58 and a 52-week high of $321.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.90 and a beta of 1.33.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $4.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by ($0.44). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 21.32% and a return on equity of 35.79%. The company had revenue of $623.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $651.46 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.28 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 15.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.06%.

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.