James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $27.5556.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded James Hardie Industries from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Stephens boosted their target price on James Hardie Industries from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Barclays reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on James Hardie Industries from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th.

James Hardie Industries Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of JHX stock opened at $28.38 on Thursday. James Hardie Industries has a one year low of $16.46 and a one year high of $29.83. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $25.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.96. The stock has a market cap of $16.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 129.02 and a beta of 1.77.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The construction company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 11.13% and a net margin of 2.15%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 44.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.36 earnings per share. Analysts predict that James Hardie Industries will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted 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 worth $972,981,000 after buying an additional 36,567,726 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in James Hardie Industries during the fourth quarter worth $77,530,000. RDST Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $55,893,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in James Hardie Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,641,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its position in James Hardie Industries by 100.9% during the third quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 4,531,761 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $87,055,000 after buying an additional 2,275,762 shares during the last quarter. 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.