Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $25.71 Million Stock Holdings in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its position in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 104,186 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 53 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.31% of Eagle Materials worth $25,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EXP. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Eagle Materials by 78.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,948 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $10,915,000 after buying an additional 16,645 shares during the last quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Eagle Materials by 400.3% in the third quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 12,978 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,733,000 after acquiring an additional 10,384 shares in the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA increased its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 46.2% during the 3rd quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 500,273 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $143,904,000 after purchasing an additional 158,171 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $920,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 27,265 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,843,000 after purchasing an additional 2,871 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Eagle Materials

In related news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 3,577 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.30, for a total transaction of $1,074,173.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,100 shares in the company, valued at $330,330. This trade represents a 76.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Haack sold 11,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $26,644,315.50. This trade represents a 12.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eagle Materials Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE EXP opened at $255.18 on Thursday. Eagle Materials Inc. has a twelve month low of $211.44 and a twelve month high of $321.93. The stock has a market cap of $8.49 billion, a PE ratio of 18.23 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $261.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $270.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 2.76.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.6 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup downgraded Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $334.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eagle Materials has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.80.

Eagle Materials Company Profile

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.