James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

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

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of James Hardie Industries in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of James Hardie Industries in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, James Hardie Industries has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.00.

James Hardie Industries Price Performance

Shares of JHX opened at $31.76 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 1.81. James Hardie Industries has a twelve month low of $29.88 and a twelve month high of $43.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a 50 day moving average of $32.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.42.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $953.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $967.63 million. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 11.15% and a return on equity of 33.65%. As a group, analysts predict that James Hardie Industries will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JHX. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 39.4% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,238 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 1,763 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 29.7% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 25,716 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 5,895 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 2.8% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 28,996 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,164,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries during the third quarter worth $213,000. Finally, PDS Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries during the third quarter worth $255,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

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.