James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised James Hardie Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.25.

James Hardie Industries Stock Performance

Shares of JHX stock opened at $34.79 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $35.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.48. James Hardie Industries has a fifty-two week low of $29.88 and a fifty-two week high of $43.57. The firm has a market cap of $14.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.45, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.50.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The construction company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $960.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $973.49 million. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 35.93%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. Analysts predict that James Hardie Industries will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its stake in James Hardie Industries by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 10,692 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 55.7% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,045 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 374 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in James Hardie Industries by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,630 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 155.9% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,475 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $141,000 after acquiring an additional 2,726 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. grew its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 12.4% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 20,328 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $641,000 after purchasing an additional 2,241 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

About James Hardie Industries

James Hardie Industries plc manufactures and sells fiber cement, fiber gypsum, and cement bonded building products for interior and exterior building construction applications primarily in the United States, Australia, Europe, New Zealand, and the Philippines. The company operates through North America Fiber Cement, Asia Pacific Fiber Cement, and Europe Building Products segments.