James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) Stock Rated "Moderate Buy" by Sell-Side Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts’ consensus is “Moderate Buy”: Ten of 12 analysts rate James Hardie a buy, while one recommends hold and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $33.44.
• Quarterly results topped expectations: The company reported EPS of $0.42 versus the $0.38 consensus and revenue of $1.43 billion versus $1.41 billion; revenue rose 10.5% year over year.
• Shares traded at $27.82, within a 52-week range of $16.46 to $31.43. Recent analyst calls were mixed, including a Zacks downgrade to “strong sell” and Truist lowering its target while maintaining a “buy” rating.

James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.44.

JHX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research downgraded James Hardie Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of James Hardie Industries in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Raymond James Financial set a $36.00 target price on James Hardie Industries in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on James Hardie Industries from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th.

James Hardie Industries Price Performance

Shares of James Hardie Industries stock traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $27.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,485,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,614,078. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $26.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market cap of $16.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.78. James Hardie Industries has a one year low of $16.46 and a one year high of $31.43.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The construction company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 6.36% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. On average, analysts predict that James Hardie Industries will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,737,905 shares of the construction company's stock worth $228,758,000 after purchasing an additional 954,317 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in James Hardie Industries by 394.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,987,166 shares of the construction company's stock worth $176,845,000 after purchasing an additional 5,574,985 shares during the period. Hill City Capital LP raised its position in James Hardie Industries by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hill City Capital LP now owns 5,723,900 shares of the construction company's stock worth $149,852,000 after purchasing an additional 102,200 shares during the period. RDST Capital LLC lifted its stake in James Hardie Industries by 24.0% in the second quarter. RDST Capital LLC now owns 4,015,067 shares of the construction company's stock worth $105,114,000 after purchasing an additional 776,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 worth $72,720,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254,400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.96% of the company's stock.

About James Hardie Industries

James Hardie Industries plc is a global building-materials company best known for manufacturing fiber-cement products for residential and commercial construction. Its offerings include exterior siding and cladding, trim, and interior products such as backerboard used in tile installations. The company traces its history to 1888, when James Hardie established a business in Melbourne, Australia. It later developed and expanded its fiber-cement product business, becoming a major supplier of building products in several markets.

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