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

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

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 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 $35.40 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a PEG ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 1.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $35.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.42. James Hardie Industries has a 52-week low of $29.88 and a 52-week high of $43.57.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $960.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $973.49 million. James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 35.93% and a net margin of 11.16%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that James Hardie Industries will post 1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JHX. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 17.6% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 51,513 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,053,000 after purchasing an additional 7,693 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in James Hardie Industries by 115.9% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 13,663 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 7,334 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries during the 1st quarter valued at $221,000. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 11,141 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $451,000 after buying an additional 886 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pitcairn Co. bought a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries in the first quarter worth $208,000. 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.