James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Upgraded to Buy at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) from an underperform rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $27.35 price objective on the construction company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $27.40.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Macquarie downgraded James Hardie Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James set a $55.00 price objective on James Hardie Industries in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley upgraded James Hardie Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of James Hardie Industries in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.45.

James Hardie Industries Stock Up 2.7 %

JHX stock opened at $24.49 on Thursday. James Hardie Industries has a twelve month low of $23.23 and a twelve month high of $43.57. The stock has a market cap of $10.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.24, a PEG ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 1.84. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $31.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $953.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $967.63 million. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 11.15% and a return on equity of 33.65%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that James Hardie Industries will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of JHX. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in James Hardie Industries during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 972 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in James Hardie Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in James Hardie Industries in the 3rd quarter worth about $64,000. Institutional investors 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.