10 Cheap Value Stocks to Invest In, According To Seth Klarman

6. Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 31

Forward Price to Earnings Multiple: 15.11

Baupost Group’s Holdings: $143.90 Million

Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) is a basic materials company that manufactures and sells heavy construction materials and light building materials. It also engages in limestone mining to manufacture, produce, distribute, and sell Portland cement. EXP is a valuable stock to invest in due to its focus on both organic and inorganic initiatives aimed at strengthening its business and enhancing shareholder value.

Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) has since moved to strengthen its prospects in the construction materials sector with the acquisition of Bullskin Stone & Lime, LLC for $152.5 million in Western Pennsylvania. The acquisition is poised to expand the company’s growth strategy by strengthening its network of quarries and cement plants. Additionally, it positions the company to benefit from increased infrastructure spending and construction activity in the Pittsburgh area.

Expansion into Pittsburgh follows the acquisition of a small bolt-on aggregate business poised to expand the company’s Battletown Materials aggregate business in Louisville, KY. In addition to an aggressive acquisition drive, Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) has also initiated the modernization and expansion project construction at its Laramie, WY cement plant.

Bretton Fund stated the following regarding Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:

“Our most recent addition, Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP), is in the more prosaic business of making cement and wallboard, and while it’s unlikely to match the earnings growth of Alphabet, it trades for a lower multiple. We’re optimistic on both stocks. We remain hopeful all our companies will continue to grow their earnings and cash flow over time, and our share prices will ultimately reflect this value creation.”