Head-To-Head Survey: James Hardie Industries (JHX) vs. Its Competitors

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) is one of 38 public companies in the “BLDG&CONST – MISC” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its competitors? We will compare James Hardie Industries to similar companies based on the strength of its profitability, dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for James Hardie Industries and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
James Hardie Industries	0	1	6	0	2.86
James Hardie Industries Competitors	242	1410	2268	108	2.56

James Hardie Industries currently has a consensus target price of $39.12, suggesting a potential upside of 42.33%. As a group, “BLDG&CONST – MISC” companies have a potential upside of 10.98%. Given James Hardie Industries’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe James Hardie Industries is more favorable than its competitors.

Profitability

This table compares James Hardie Industries and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
James Hardie Industries	10.94%	31.52%	12.86%
James Hardie Industries Competitors	-11.01%	65.74%	4.94%

Risk and Volatility

James Hardie Industries has a beta of 1.73, indicating that its stock price is 73% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, James Hardie Industries’ competitors have a beta of 0.99, indicating that their average stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares James Hardie Industries and its competitors revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
James Hardie Industries	$3.88 billion	$424.00 million	28.04
James Hardie Industries Competitors	$6.91 billion	$580.08 million	23.44

James Hardie Industries’ competitors have higher revenue and earnings than James Hardie Industries. James Hardie Industries is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

8.0% of James Hardie Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.0% of shares of all “BLDG&CONST – MISC” companies are owned by institutional investors. 3.8% of shares of all “BLDG&CONST – MISC” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

James Hardie Industries beats its competitors on 7 of the 13 factors compared.

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. It offers fiber cement interior linings, exterior siding products, and related accessories; and various fiber cement products for a range of applications, including external cladding, internal walls, ceilings, floors, soffits, fences, and facades. The company also provides fiber gypsum and cement-bonded boards for use in the timber frame construction, dry lining, DIY, and structural fire protection applications. Its products are used in residential repair and remodel, and commercial and residential new construction markets James Hardie Industries plc was founded in 1888 and is based in Dublin, Ireland.