James Hardie Industries (JHX) and Its Competitors Head-To-Head Review

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) is one of 40 public companies in the “BLDG&CONST – MISC” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare James Hardie Industries to similar companies based on the strength of its profitability, valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Volatility and Risk

James Hardie Industries has a beta of 1.75, suggesting that its stock price is 75% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, James Hardie Industries’ rivals have a beta of 0.97, suggesting that their average stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares James Hardie Industries and its rivals’ 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%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for James Hardie Industries and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
James Hardie Industries	0	1	7	1	3.00
James Hardie Industries Competitors	246	1574	2295	112	2.54

James Hardie Industries presently has a consensus target price of $37.34, suggesting a potential upside of 40.42%. As a group, “BLDG&CONST – MISC” companies have a potential upside of 7.41%. Given James Hardie Industries’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe James Hardie Industries is more favorable than its rivals.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

8.0% of James Hardie Industries shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.0% of shares of all “BLDG&CONST – MISC” companies are held by institutional investors. 3.6% of shares of all “BLDG&CONST – MISC” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares James Hardie Industries and its rivals revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
James Hardie Industries	$3.88 billion	$424.00 million	27.13
James Hardie Industries Competitors	$6.80 billion	$567.85 million	24.01

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

Summary

James Hardie Industries beats its rivals on 8 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.