Eagle Materials added to DA Davidson Best-of-Breed Bison initiative

Earlier today, DA Davidson maintained a Neutral rating and $175 price target on Eagle Materials while adding the stock to the firm’s Best-of-Breed Bison initiative that seeks to identify the highest quality companies with “strong competitive positioning and exceptional financials”. The company’s historical record of financial performance, superior margins and financial returns are not “entirely overlooked”, yet Eagle still gets ‘passed on’ by investors due to its unique structure which is neither pure-play heavy materials nor pure-play building materials, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm adds that s Eagle is inevitably prone to cycles in demand and prevailing rates, but also believes that there should be little debate around the company’s moat within both its core cement and wallboard platforms, which are directly and indirectly influenced by intense regulation.