James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

Separately, Bank of America lowered James Hardie Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $35.50 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd.

James Hardie Industries Stock Performance

NYSE JHX opened at $34.75 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.66. James Hardie Industries has a 1 year low of $21.76 and a 1 year high of $41.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The construction company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.02. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 13.93% and a return on equity of 38.75%. The firm had revenue of $978.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.23 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that James Hardie Industries will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 150.7% in the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 2,472 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,486 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 28.0% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,926 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 50.5% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 27,726 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $836,000 after purchasing an additional 9,305 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries during the 1st quarter valued at $215,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 58,524 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,764,000 after buying an additional 4,904 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

About James Hardie Industries

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.