James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $31.43 and last traded at $30.4840, with a volume of 895580 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $30.39.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on JHX shares. Truist Financial lifted their price target on James Hardie Industries from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Barclays upgraded James Hardie Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of James Hardie Industries from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on James Hardie Industries from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $34.00 price objective on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, James Hardie Industries has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.50.

James Hardie Industries Stock Down 3.2%

The company’s 50-day moving average is $27.96 and its 200 day moving average is $23.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.59. The company has a market capitalization of $16.78 billion, a PE ratio of 115.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.77.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The construction company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.04. James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 2.69%.The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. James Hardie Industries’s revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that James Hardie Industries PLC. will post 1.41 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 259.7% during the third 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position 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 worth $201,071,000 after purchasing an additional 1,758,111 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 12.3% during the second quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,737,905 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $228,758,000 after buying an additional 954,317 shares during the last quarter. Hill City Capital LP raised its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 1.8% during the second quarter. Hill City Capital LP now owns 5,723,900 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $149,852,000 after buying an additional 102,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RDST Capital LLC increased its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter. RDST Capital LLC now owns 4,015,067 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $105,114,000 after acquiring an additional 776,950 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

About James Hardie Industries

James Hardie Industries plc is a building materials company specializing in fiber cement and fiber gypsum products. Its products are used in residential and commercial construction, remodeling and repair applications, including exterior siding, trim, soffits, weatherboard, roofing components and interior wall systems.

The company markets products under brands that include Hardie and Fermacell. Its fiber cement materials are designed to provide durability and resistance to fire, moisture, pests and weather, serving applications where alternatives such as wood, vinyl or traditional gypsum may be used.

Founded in Australia in 1888, James Hardie has developed into an international manufacturer and supplier serving customers across North America, Australia and New Zealand, Europe and other markets.