James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Now Covered by Melius Research

Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $36.00 target price on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on JHX. Barclays upgraded James Hardie Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of James Hardie Industries in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Loop Capital assumed coverage on James Hardie Industries in a research report on Monday, September 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of James Hardie Industries from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of James Hardie Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, James Hardie Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.11.

James Hardie Industries Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE JHX opened at $25.59 on Tuesday. James Hardie Industries has a 1 year low of $16.46 and a 1 year high of $31.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $14.85 billion, a PE ratio of 102.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $28.25 and a 200 day moving average of $24.51.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The construction company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 2.69%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. Research analysts forecast that James Hardie Industries will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its position in James Hardie Industries by 12.3% during the second quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,737,905 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $228,758,000 after purchasing an additional 954,317 shares in the last quarter. Hill City Capital LP increased its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 1.8% in the second quarter. Hill City Capital LP now owns 5,723,900 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $149,852,000 after buying an additional 102,200 shares in the last quarter. RDST Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 24.0% during the 2nd quarter. RDST Capital LLC now owns 4,015,067 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $105,114,000 after buying an additional 776,950 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $72,720,000 after buying an additional 1,254,400 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 22.5% during the 2nd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,166,998 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $57,707,000 after buying an additional 397,621 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

About James Hardie Industries

James Hardie Industries plc is a building materials company that manufactures and markets fiber cement and fiber gypsum products. Its products are used primarily in residential and commercial construction, including exterior siding, trim, soffits, backer board, and interior wall and flooring applications.

The company sells products under brands that include Hardie, HardiePlank, HardiePanel, and HardieBacker. Its fiber cement products are designed to provide durability and resistance to moisture, fire, pests, and weathering, serving builders, contractors, architects, and homeowners.

James Hardie traces its origins to Australia in the late 19th century and has since expanded into an international building products company.