James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on JHX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised James Hardie Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Vertical Research upgraded James Hardie Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on James Hardie Industries from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on James Hardie Industries from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of James Hardie Industries from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.71.

James Hardie Industries Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of James Hardie Industries stock opened at $25.17 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.54. James Hardie Industries has a 52-week low of $16.46 and a 52-week high of $32.99. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $22.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.20, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.80.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The construction company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.01. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 2.70% and a return on equity of 13.52%. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.36 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that James Hardie Industries will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in James Hardie Industries by 259.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 50,649,731 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $972,981,000 after purchasing an additional 36,567,726 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 6.9% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,600,870 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $261,273,000 after buying an additional 882,795 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,690,174 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $201,071,000 after buying an additional 1,758,111 shares during the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $105,839,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 5,166,115 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $107,197,000 after acquiring an additional 634,354 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 (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.