James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on JHX. Vertical Research raised shares of James Hardie Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Citigroup upgraded James Hardie Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Raymond James Financial set a $21.00 price target on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of James Hardie Industries from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on James Hardie Industries from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.71.

James Hardie Industries Stock Performance

Shares of JHX opened at $24.91 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $22.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.51. James Hardie Industries has a twelve month low of $16.46 and a twelve month high of $32.99. The firm has a market cap of $10.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.36, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.54.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The construction company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.01. James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 13.52% and a net margin of 2.70%.The business had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.36 earnings per share. James Hardie Industries’s quarterly revenue was up 30.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that James Hardie Industries will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of James Hardie Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 641.2% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,223 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,058 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in James Hardie Industries by 3,431.1% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,589 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,544 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management lifted its stake in James Hardie Industries by 4,266.7% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,310 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 11,238.5% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,474 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461 shares in the last quarter. 7.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

James Hardie Industries Company Profile

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE: JHX) is a global manufacturer of high-performance fiber cement building products. The company specializes in exterior cladding, trim and soffit, as well as interior backerboard solutions designed for residential and commercial construction. By combining cement, sand and cellulose fibers, James Hardie produces durable, low-maintenance materials that resist moisture, fire and termite damage, catering to builders, contractors and homeowners through a network of distributors and retail channels.

The company’s flagship products include Hardie® Plank® and Hardie® Panel® siding systems, Hardie® BackerBoard® for tile applications, and a range of architectural trim solutions.