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

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

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

James Hardie Industries Price Performance

James Hardie Industries stock opened at $35.66 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.40. The stock has a market cap of $15.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 1.76. James Hardie Industries has a 12-month low of $29.88 and a 12-month high of $43.57.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The construction company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $960.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $973.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. James Hardie Industries’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that James Hardie Industries will post 1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JHX. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,494 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 374 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in James Hardie Industries by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,630 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,029,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 46.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,365 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 0.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 70,496 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,223,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. 7.96% of the stock is currently 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.