High Ground Investment Management LLP Buys New Shares in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

High Ground Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 24,429 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,955,000. Eagle Materials accounts for about 2.4% of High Ground Investment Management LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,202 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 23,174 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,654 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 233.9% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 374 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 36.0% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 101,946 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $20,679,000 after purchasing an additional 26,967 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Eagle Materials by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,042 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Tony Thompson sold 638 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.07, for a total value of $149,974.66. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,393 shares in the company, valued at $3,383,362.51. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Tony Thompson sold 638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.07, for a total value of $149,974.66. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,393 shares in the company, valued at $3,383,362.51. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David B. Powers sold 3,347 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.52, for a total value of $805,020.44. Following the transaction, the director now owns 655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $157,540.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 6,925 shares of company stock valued at $1,693,376. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eagle Materials Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of EXP stock traded up $4.15 on Thursday, reaching $256.75. 278,665 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 291,471. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Eagle Materials Inc. has a one year low of $145.03 and a one year high of $272.72. The stock has a market cap of $8.85 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $256.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $216.68.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. Eagle Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on EXP shares. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $170.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Eagle Materials from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $244.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Eagle Materials from $200.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on Eagle Materials from $250.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $263.50.

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; 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.