James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Upgraded at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on JHX. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of James Hardie Industries from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of James Hardie Industries from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Raymond James Financial set a $21.00 price target on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Vertical Research upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on James Hardie Industries in a report on Monday, December 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, James Hardie Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.71.

James Hardie Industries Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of JHX opened at $25.86 on Wednesday. James Hardie Industries has a 1 year low of $16.46 and a 1 year high of $33.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.57. The firm has a market cap of $11.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 95.76, a P/E/G ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 1.80.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The construction company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm 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. The company’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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of James Hardie Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries in the second quarter worth approximately $654,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund bought a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,115,000. Phoenix Financial Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at $105,839,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,600,870 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $261,273,000 after buying an additional 882,795 shares during the period. Finally, Tabor Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in James Hardie Industries in the 2nd quarter worth $5,542,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

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.