James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX – Get Rating) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eight analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $29.80.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on JHX. StockNews.com raised James Hardie Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of James Hardie Industries in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. TheStreet upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, February 9th. Finally, CLSA lowered shares of James Hardie Industries from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 15th.

James Hardie Industries Stock Performance

James Hardie Industries stock opened at $20.73 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.77. James Hardie Industries has a fifty-two week low of $17.25 and a fifty-two week high of $34.86. The stock has a market cap of $9.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.39.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 13th. The construction company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.07). James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 44.72% and a net margin of 12.61%. The company had revenue of $860.80 million during the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.34 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that James Hardie Industries will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 351.1% in the 4th quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,899 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,478 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA increased its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 880.0% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 1,960 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,486 shares in the last quarter. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries in the 3rd quarter worth $84,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 28.0% in the 1st 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. 1.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About James Hardie Industries

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James Hardie Industries Plc engages in the manufacture of fiber cement siding and backer board. It operates through the following segments: North America Fiber Cement, Asia Pacific Fiber Cement, Europe Building Products, and Research & Development. The North America Fiber Cement segment manufactures fiber cement interior linings, exterior siding products and related accessories in the United States.