Brokerages Set James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) Target Price at $26.56

Shares of James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $27.00.

JHX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of James Hardie Industries from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of James Hardie Industries from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock.

Institutional Trading of James Hardie Industries

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JHX. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 14.7% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,890 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 884 shares in the last quarter. Xponance LLC grew its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 16,879 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 911 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,684 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 936 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 67.1% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,576 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 46.5% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,532 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

James Hardie Industries Stock Performance

Shares of James Hardie Industries stock opened at $25.86 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $23.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.54. The company has a market cap of $15.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 117.56 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.58. James Hardie Industries has a one year low of $16.46 and a one year high of $29.83.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The construction company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.01. James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 11.13% and a net margin of 2.15%.The company had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 44.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that James Hardie Industries will post 1.24 EPS for the current 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.