James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Brokerages

James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.78.

JHX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Barclays upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $35.00 in a report on Monday, August 10th. Raymond James Financial set a $35.00 price objective on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Loop Capital initiated coverage on James Hardie Industries in a report on Monday, September 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock.

James Hardie Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JHX opened at $26.04 on Friday. James Hardie Industries has a twelve month low of $16.46 and a twelve month high of $31.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $28.32 and its 200-day moving average is $24.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 104.16, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.77.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The construction company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.04. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 2.69% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. James Hardie Industries’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that James Hardie Industries will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,651,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in James Hardie Industries by 48.5% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,839,489 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $72,720,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254,400 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 12.3% during the second quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,737,905 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $228,758,000 after purchasing an additional 954,317 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in James Hardie Industries by 105.3% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,831,396 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $38,001,000 after buying an additional 939,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Senator Investment Group LP increased its position in James Hardie Industries by 99.8% in the fourth quarter. Senator Investment Group LP now owns 1,825,797 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $37,885,000 after buying an additional 911,860 shares during the last quarter. 7.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About James Hardie Industries

James Hardie Industries plc is a building materials company specializing in fiber cement and fiber gypsum products. Its products are used in residential and commercial construction, remodeling and repair applications, including exterior siding, trim, soffits, weatherboard, roofing components and interior wall systems.

The company markets products under brands that include Hardie and Fermacell. Its fiber cement materials are designed to provide durability and resistance to fire, moisture, pests and weather, serving applications where alternatives such as wood, vinyl or traditional gypsum may be used.

Founded in Australia in 1888, James Hardie has developed into an international manufacturer and supplier serving customers across North America, Australia and New Zealand, Europe and other markets.