New York State Common Retirement Fund Purchases New Holdings in James Hardie Industries PLC. $JHX

New York State Common Retirement Fund acquired a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 58,060 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,115,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 241.0% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 12,718,075 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $341,989,000 after purchasing an additional 8,988,938 shares during the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. acquired a new position in James Hardie Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at $105,839,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in James Hardie Industries by 1,883.6% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,874,198 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $104,177,000 after buying an additional 3,678,889 shares during the period. Eminence Capital LP purchased a new position in James Hardie Industries during the 2nd quarter worth $83,249,000. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries in the 3rd quarter worth $38,552,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on JHX shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of James Hardie Industries from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Raymond James Financial set a $21.00 price objective on James Hardie Industries in a report on Monday, December 8th. Zacks Research raised James Hardie Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. Vertical Research raised James Hardie Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup raised James Hardie Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.93.

James Hardie Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JHX opened at $23.36 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $21.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.53. James Hardie Industries PLC. has a 52 week low of $16.46 and a 52 week high of $33.81. The stock has a market cap of $10.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.67, a PEG ratio of 7.60 and a beta of 1.80.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 17th. The construction company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 4.67% and a return on equity of 18.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 34.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.36 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that James Hardie Industries PLC. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About James Hardie Industries

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE: JHX) is a global manufacturer of high-performance fiber cement building products. The company specializes in exterior cladding, trim and soffit, as well as interior backerboard solutions designed for residential and commercial construction. By combining cement, sand and cellulose fibers, James Hardie produces durable, low-maintenance materials that resist moisture, fire and termite damage, catering to builders, contractors and homeowners through a network of distributors and retail channels.

The company’s flagship products include Hardie® Plank® and Hardie® Panel® siding systems, Hardie® BackerBoard® for tile applications, and a range of architectural trim solutions.