Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Takes $1.11 Million Position in James Hardie Industries PLC. $JHX

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 42,543 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB bought a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,459,000. Capula Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries in the 1st quarter worth about $6,620,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 25.1% in the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 2,003,166 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,566,000 after acquiring an additional 401,435 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in James Hardie Industries by 48.5% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,839,489 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $72,720,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254,400 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in James Hardie Industries by 42.9% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 718,202 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $13,603,000 after acquiring an additional 215,752 shares in the last quarter. 7.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $35.00 in a report on Monday, August 10th. Stephens boosted their price target on James Hardie Industries from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research upgraded James Hardie Industries from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Raymond James Financial set a $35.00 price objective on James Hardie Industries in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $34.00 price objective on James Hardie Industries in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.50.

James Hardie Industries Stock Performance

Shares of JHX stock opened at $29.84 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 119.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.59. James Hardie Industries PLC. has a one year low of $16.46 and a one year high of $31.43. The company’s 50-day moving average is $27.90 and its 200 day moving average is $23.94.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The construction company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 2.69% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that James Hardie Industries PLC. will post 1.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

James Hardie Industries Company Profile

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE: JHX) is a global manufacturer of high-performance fiber cement building products. The company specializes in exterior cladding, trim and soffit, as well as interior backerboard solutions designed for residential and commercial construction. By combining cement, sand and cellulose fibers, James Hardie produces durable, low-maintenance materials that resist moisture, fire and termite damage, catering to builders, contractors and homeowners through a network of distributors and retail channels.

The company’s flagship products include Hardie® Plank® and Hardie® Panel® siding systems, Hardie® BackerBoard® for tile applications, and a range of architectural trim solutions.