Eagle Materials Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.25 (NYSE:EXP)

Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 6th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share by the construction company on Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th.

Eagle Materials has raised its dividend by an average of 10.1% per year over the last three years. Eagle Materials has a dividend payout ratio of 5.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Eagle Materials to earn $16.57 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 6.0%.

Eagle Materials Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of EXP opened at $256.05 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $259.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $270.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29 and a beta of 1.37. Eagle Materials has a 52 week low of $211.44 and a 52 week high of $321.93. 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 announced 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, analysts predict that Eagle Materials will post 14.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Eagle Materials

In related news, CEO Michael Haack sold 11,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 85,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,644,315.50. This represents a 12.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 3,577 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were 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 directly owns 1,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $330,330. This represents a 76.48 % 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 company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Eagle Materials from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 25th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup cut shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $334.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Eagle Materials from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently 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.