Eagle Materials Inc. (EXP) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.25 on October 17th

Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, August 5th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share by the construction company on Thursday, October 17th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th.

Eagle Materials has increased its dividend payment by an average of 115.4% annually over the last three years. Eagle Materials has a payout ratio of 5.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Eagle Materials to earn $17.75 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 5.6%.

Eagle Materials Stock Up 2.0 %

NYSE:EXP traded up $4.98 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $250.75. The stock had a trading volume of 5,020 shares, compared to its average volume of 319,925. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $229.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $243.11. The company has a market cap of $8.49 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04 and a beta of 1.32. Eagle Materials has a 1-year low of $145.03 and a 1-year high of $279.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $608.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $622.06 million. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 21.65% and a return on equity of 37.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.55 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Eagle Materials will post 15.95 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on EXP. Stephens boosted their price objective on Eagle Materials from $280.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $252.00 to $311.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $238.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Eagle Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eagle Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $289.78.

Insider Transactions at Eagle Materials

In other news, insider Eric Cribbs sold 1,851 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.06, for a total transaction of $512,838.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,861,385.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Eric Cribbs sold 1,851 shares of Eagle Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.06, for a total value of $512,838.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,937 shares in the company, valued at $3,861,385.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Dale Craig Kesler sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.76, for a total value of $1,333,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 60,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,135,778.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.