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

StockNews.com lowered shares of James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday morning.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of James Hardie Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th.

James Hardie Industries Stock Up 0.5 %

JHX stock opened at $35.35 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.46. The company has a market capitalization of $15.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.50. James Hardie Industries has a 12 month low of $29.88 and a 12 month high of $43.57.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The construction company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 35.93%. The firm had revenue of $960.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $973.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that James Hardie Industries will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of James Hardie Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in James Hardie Industries by 55.7% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,045 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in James Hardie Industries by 46.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,365 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank acquired a new position in James Hardie Industries during the third quarter worth $55,000. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in James Hardie Industries during the third quarter worth $64,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in James Hardie Industries during the third quarter worth $71,000. 7.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.