Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Has $9.22 Million Stock Position in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 45.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,349 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,643 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.11% of Eagle Materials worth $9,216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 1.4% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,981 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $858,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Sprott Inc. lifted its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 1,695 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $418,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,086 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 569 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 1.5% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,872 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 0.4 %

EXP stock opened at $221.89 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $235.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $265.19. Eagle Materials Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.44 and a fifty-two week high of $321.93.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.97 by ($0.38). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 20.91% and a return on equity of 34.14%. Analysts expect that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $242.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup lowered shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $334.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $286.40.

Insider Transactions at Eagle Materials

In other news, Director Michael R. Nicolais bought 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $257.36 per share, for a total transaction of $79,781.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,655 shares in the company, valued at $940,650.80. The trade was a 9.27 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.