StockNews.com Upgrades James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) to “Buy”

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Several other research analysts have also commented on JHX. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of James Hardie Industries in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of James Hardie Industries in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, James Hardie Industries currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $45.00.

James Hardie Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:JHX opened at $29.29 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $32.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.01. The company has a market cap of $12.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 1.84. James Hardie Industries has a 12 month low of $28.77 and a 12 month high of $43.57.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 33.65% and a net margin of 11.15%. The business had revenue of $953.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $967.63 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that James Hardie Industries will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 76.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 374,164 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $11,528,000 after purchasing an additional 161,899 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 964,583 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,718,000 after acquiring an additional 161,059 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 317.2% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 172,460 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,924,000 after acquiring an additional 131,120 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 453,206 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $13,963,000 after acquiring an additional 73,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 184.4% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 86,531 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,666,000 after purchasing an additional 56,104 shares during the last quarter. 7.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.