James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $26.00.

JHX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of James Hardie Industries from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 259.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 50,649,731 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $972,981,000 after acquiring an additional 36,567,726 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,690,174 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $201,071,000 after acquiring an additional 1,758,111 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 5,166,115 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $107,197,000 after acquiring an additional 634,354 shares in the last quarter. Hill City Capital LP grew its position in James Hardie Industries by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Hill City Capital LP now owns 5,120,200 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $106,244,000 after purchasing an additional 901,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors purchased a new position in James Hardie Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $86,121,000. 7.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

James Hardie Industries Stock Up 1.8%

NYSE JHX opened at $25.62 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.69. James Hardie Industries has a 12 month low of $16.46 and a 12 month high of $29.83. The company has a market capitalization of $14.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 116.47, a PEG ratio of 13.51 and a beta of 1.80.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The construction company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 2.15% and a return on equity of 11.13%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.36 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that James Hardie Industries will post 1.25 earnings per share 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.