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

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded James Hardie Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th.

James Hardie Industries Price Performance

JHX stock opened at $34.93 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $35.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.42. James Hardie Industries has a fifty-two week low of $29.88 and a fifty-two week high of $43.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market cap of $15.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.58, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.76.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. 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 35.93% and a net margin of 11.16%. The firm had revenue of $960.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $973.49 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that James Hardie Industries will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in James Hardie Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at about $12,162,000. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in James Hardie Industries by 317.2% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 172,460 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,924,000 after acquiring an additional 131,120 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new position in James Hardie Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,369,000. Boston Common Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries during the second quarter worth $1,671,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 160,273 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,435,000 after buying an additional 29,401 shares during the last quarter. 7.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

James Hardie Industries Company Profile

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.