James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

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

James Hardie Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JHX opened at $35.62 on Wednesday. James Hardie Industries has a 12 month low of $29.88 and a 12 month high of $43.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $35.66 and a 200-day moving average of $34.41. 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 market capitalization of $15.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.27, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.76.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $973.49 million. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 35.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that James Hardie Industries will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.