Sei Investments Co. Decreases Holdings in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Sei Investments Co. trimmed its stake in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) by 24.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 56,311 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 18,396 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Eagle Materials were worth $13,895,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Eagle Materials by 78.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,948 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $10,915,000 after purchasing an additional 16,645 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $8,890,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 242.4% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,789 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,922,000 after buying an additional 5,514 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake 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 worth $499,111,000 after acquiring an additional 652,836 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Eagle Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $38,115,000. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on EXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. DA Davidson lowered their target price 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. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup lowered Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $286.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael R. Nicolais acquired 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $257.36 per share, with a total value of $79,781.60. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $940,650.80. This represents a 9.27 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

Eagle Materials stock opened at $221.02 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $236.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $265.30. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 52 week low of $205.44 and a 52 week high of $321.93. The stock has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.59 EPS 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.14%.

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.