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Frontier Capital Cuts Eagle Materials Stake by $88 Million Amid Housing Market Struggles

The Motley Fool·03/09/2026 17:51:46
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Key Points

  • Sold 398,334 shares of Eagle Materials; estimated transaction value ~$87.91 million (based on quarterly average pricing).

  • Position value declined by $107.20 million over the quarter, reflecting both trading and price movement effects.

  • Represents a 0.93% reduction in 13F AUM for the quarter.

  • Post-trade holding: 545,349 shares valued at $112.71 million.

  • The stake now accounts for 1.2% of fund AUM, placing it outside the fund’s top five holdings.

On February 17, 2026, Frontier Capital Management reported selling 398,334 shares of Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP), an estimated $87.91 million trade based on quarterly average pricing.

What happened

According to a February 17, 2026, SEC filing, Frontier Capital Management sold 398,334 shares of Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) during the fourth quarter. The estimated value of this trade, based on the quarterly average price, was $87.91 million. The fund ended the quarter with 545,349 shares in the company, and the holding's value decreased by $107.20 million, reflecting both trading and stock price changes.

What else to know

  • This was a sell transaction; the position now makes up 1.2% of reported 13F AUM, down from 2.0% in the prior quarter.
  • Top holdings after the filing:
    • NASDAQ: FTAI: $255.23 million (2.7% of AUM)
    • NYSE: AMTM: $167.42 million (1.8% of AUM)
    • NYSE: GVA: $145.10 million (1.5% of AUM)
    • NYSE: ATI: $140.86 million (1.5% of AUM)
    • NASDAQ: MDB: $126.79 million (1.3% of AUM)
  • As of February 16, 2026, Eagle Materials shares were priced at $235.11, down 5.7% over the past year with a one-year alpha of (17.5) percentage points versus the S&P 500.

Company overview

Metric Value
Revenue (TTM) $2.30 billion
Net income (TTM) $430.13 million
Dividend yield 0.52%
Price (as of market close February 13, 2026) $235.11

Company snapshot

  • Produces and supplies cement, concrete and aggregates, gypsum wallboard, and recycled paperboard, with main revenue from heavy construction and light building materials.
  • Operates a vertically integrated business model, sourcing raw materials and manufacturing finished products for distribution to the construction industry.
  • Serves commercial, residential, and public construction markets across the United States, including contractors, builders, and infrastructure projects.

Eagle Materials is a U.S. supplier of construction materials, leveraging an integrated production and distribution network to serve diverse building and infrastructure needs. The company controls key raw material sources such as limestone and gypsum, and serves commercial, residential, and public construction markets.

What this transaction means for investors

Frontier Capital cut its Eagle Materials position by about 42% in the last quarter, pulling $88 million off the table and making similar reductions throughout the portfolio. That's a classic move for active managers who still like a company but want to take some chips off after a position gets too large or performance lags. Frontier runs concentrated small and mid-cap portfolios built through bottom-up research, so positions regularly get adjusted as fundamentals shift.

Eagle Materials makes cement and gypsum wallboard, and the divergence between the two is interesting. The cement business is doing well on infrastructure spending, but the wallboard business is hurting from slow housing activity. The stock dropped around 5% over the past year, lagging the S&P 500 by 18 percentage points, despite posting record revenue of $639 million in its most recent quarter.

Eagle Materials works for investors betting that housing eventually recovers while infrastructure spending stays strong. Cement tied to roads and bridges is thriving now. Wallboard tied to new homes is dependent on mortgage rates to drop before demand rebounds. If rates stay elevated longer, the wallboard weakness will likely persist. If housing turns, both businesses could fire together.

Sara Appino has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amentum and MongoDB and is short shares of MongoDB. The Motley Fool recommends Eagle Materials. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.