James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Now Covered by Vertical Research

Vertical Research began coverage on shares of James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research note on Friday, August 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $34.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research began coverage on James Hardie Industries in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. William Blair assumed coverage on James Hardie Industries in a research note on Friday, June 27th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. CLSA raised James Hardie Industries to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.39.

James Hardie Industries Stock Performance

Shares of James Hardie Industries stock opened at $21.29 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $9.15 billion, a PE ratio of 27.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 14.55 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a quick ratio of 3.31, a current ratio of 3.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. James Hardie Industries has a 52 week low of $17.85 and a 52 week high of $37.65. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.78.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 19th. The construction company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.07). James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 27.95%. The company had revenue of $899.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $982.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that James Hardie Industries will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,694 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 999 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 473.5% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 72,316 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,704,000 after buying an additional 59,706 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 10.7% during the first quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 15,002 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 1,452 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 7.4% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 55,944 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,318,000 after buying an additional 3,838 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 21.4% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 110,133 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,595,000 after acquiring an additional 19,392 shares in the last quarter. 7.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

James Hardie Industries Company Profile

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.