Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 379,606 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $93,672,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 60.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,735,133 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $499,111,000 after purchasing an additional 652,836 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eagle Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,115,000. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eagle Materials in the third quarter worth about $34,846,000. Merewether Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $22,552,000. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in Eagle Materials by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 270,711 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $66,801,000 after acquiring an additional 37,689 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eagle Materials news, Director Michael R. Nicolais bought 310 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $257.36 per share, for a total transaction of $79,781.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $940,650.80. This trade represents a 9.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eagle Materials Stock Performance

Eagle Materials stock opened at $227.42 on Wednesday. Eagle Materials Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.44 and a fifty-two week high of $321.93. The stock has a market cap of $7.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $235.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $264.88. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.97 by ($0.38). Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 20.91%. As a group, analysts expect that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on EXP. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $242.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $280.00 to $245.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup cut Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $334.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $279.40.

Eagle Materials 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.