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

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of James Hardie Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th.

James Hardie Industries Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of JHX stock traded up $0.17 on Monday, hitting $35.35. The stock had a trading volume of 61,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 74,499. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 1.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $35.18 and its 200-day moving average is $34.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.02. James Hardie Industries has a 52-week low of $29.88 and a 52-week high of $43.57.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The construction company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $960.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $973.49 million. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 35.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that James Hardie Industries will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of James Hardie Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 2.6% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,494 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 4.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,551 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 55.7% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,045 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,630 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 46.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,365 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the period. 7.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

James Hardie Industries Company Profile

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.