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

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Separately, Bank of America lowered shares of James Hardie Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $35.50 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd.

James Hardie Industries Stock Performance

Shares of JHX stock opened at $34.75 on Tuesday. James Hardie Industries has a 52-week low of $21.76 and a 52-week high of $41.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $15.14 billion, a PE ratio of 28.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.69. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.66.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The construction company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $978.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.23 million. James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 38.75% and a net margin of 13.93%. James Hardie Industries’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that James Hardie Industries will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of James Hardie Industries

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in James Hardie Industries by 231.6% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 3,170 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 2,214 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in James Hardie Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA lifted its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 880.0% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 1,960 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC lifted its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 327.2% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 2,217 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. 7.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.