James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.50.

JHX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $34.00 target price on James Hardie Industries in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on James Hardie Industries from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays raised James Hardie Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of James Hardie Industries from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $35.00 target price on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research note on Monday, August 10th.

James Hardie Industries Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE JHX opened at $30.35 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 121.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.77. 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 50 day simple moving average of $27.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.88. James Hardie Industries has a 1 year low of $16.46 and a 1 year high of $31.35.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The construction company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that James Hardie Industries will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries during the second quarter worth $5,459,000. Capula Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries in the 1st quarter valued at $6,620,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $41,566,000 after buying an additional 401,435 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in James Hardie Industries by 42.9% during the 1st 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. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $72,720,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254,400 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

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.