Jim Cramer’s New Lightning Round: 7 Stocks Highlighted

5. Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 36

Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer highlighted in his new lightning round. Noting that they have held the stock for some time, a caller inquired about it. Here’s what Mad Money’s host had to say in response:

“Eagle Materials. No, no, no. We don’t want Eagle Materials. We would take OC before that one, and of course, we could always buy Home Depot, and I think that those are better.”

Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) produces and sells cement, concrete, aggregates, gypsum wallboard, and recycled paperboard for residential, commercial, and infrastructure construction. L1 Capital stated the following regarding Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter:

“On the negative side, 3 companies, Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP), Marsh & McLennan and UnitedHealth Group (in alphabetical order) each detracted more than 0.5% from the Fund’s returns for the quarter.

There were no company-specific issues associated with Eagle Materials, but rather the company’s share price was impacted by sector concerns regarding a broad softening in U.S. new residential construction conditions. As illustrated in Figure 10, there has been a relatively modest pull back in new residential construction activity, with greater pressure on multi-family construction compared to single family housing.

Housing is a highly cyclical industry. The recent pullback is nothing like the industry correction following excessive construction in 2005 and 2006. While there are regional pockets of excess inventory, in general it is universally accepted that there is a shortage of housing in the U.S. following an extended period of under-building post the Global Financial Crisis. Prior to the recent correction, we assessed market conditions as broadly mid-cycle. As illustrated in Figure 11, while housing affordability is low, it has not worsened over recent months. Mortgage rates and house prices have both been relatively stable. In our view, the recent downturn in housing activity reflects caution by prospective buyers as a result of the recent macroeconomic and tariff uncertainties, lower consumer confidence and an expectation that mortgage rates will stay higher for longer, reducing the potential to refinance mortgages at a lower rate in the nearish term…” (Click here to read the full text)