James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on JHX. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of James Hardie Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.25.

James Hardie Industries Price Performance

Shares of JHX opened at $33.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $14.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.36, a PEG ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 1.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $34.74 and a 200-day moving average of $34.58. James Hardie Industries has a 52 week low of $29.88 and a 52 week high of $43.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 35.93%. The company had revenue of $960.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $973.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. James Hardie Industries’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that James Hardie Industries will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 55.7% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,045 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 46.3% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,365 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank acquired a new position in James Hardie Industries during the 3rd quarter worth about $55,000. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in James Hardie Industries during the 3rd quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries in the second quarter worth about $66,000. 7.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.