Investors should gain from this breakup

Article Excerpt

In March 2019, activist investment firm Sachem Head Capital Management announced that it had acquired 8.9% of Eagle Materials. It now owns around 7% of the company. Sachem originally pushed the company to sell its fracking sands business, which has struggled in recent years as oil producers opt instead to use brown sand from suppliers close to their wells. That’s cheaper than using white sand that comes from mines. Eagle Materials is now studying options for that business­–including a spinoff. It’s also going a step further by splitting itself into two pure-play firms. That should help unlock more value for its investors. EAGLE MATERIALS INC. $50 is a buy for aggressive investors. The company (New York symbol EXP; Manufacturing sector; Shares outstanding: 41.6 million; Market cap: $2.1 billion; Dividend yield: 0.8%; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.eaglematerials.com) makes cement, gypsum wallboard, recycled paperboard, concrete and aggregates, and oil and gas proppants (man-made sand for fracking) at over 75 facilities in the U.S. Texas house builder Centex Corporation spun off…