James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Thursday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded James Hardie Industries from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Macquarie raised shares of James Hardie Industries from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st.

James Hardie Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JHX opened at $37.41 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $33.83 and its 200-day moving average is $35.39. James Hardie Industries has a twelve month low of $24.28 and a twelve month high of $41.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.25, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.71.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 13th. The construction company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.03. James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 38.97% and a net margin of 12.96%. The firm had revenue of $991.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that James Hardie Industries will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in James Hardie Industries in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 55.7% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,045 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 693.2% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,158 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in James Hardie Industries during the second quarter valued at $66,000. Institutional investors own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

About James Hardie Industries

James Hardie Industries plc manufactures and sells fiber cement, fiber gypsum, and cement bonded building products for interior and exterior building construction applications primarily in the United States, Australia, Europe, New Zealand, and the Philippines. The company operates through North America Fiber Cement, Asia Pacific Fiber Cement, and Europe Building Products segments.