James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Raised to Outperform at Macquarie

Key Points

• James Hardie Industries' stock was upgraded from "neutral" to "outperform" by Macquarie, reflecting increased analyst confidence in the company's performance.
• Multiple analysts have varying ratings for the stock; while Truist Financial lowered their price target, Baird R W upgraded it to "strong-buy" with a target of $32.00.
• The company's most recent quarterly earnings showed a slight miss on EPS, reporting $0.36 versus the expected $0.37, along with a 3.3% decline in revenue year-over-year.

Macquarie upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX - Free Report) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Baird R W raised James Hardie Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded James Hardie Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of James Hardie Industries from $45.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research note on Friday, July 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research note on Friday, June 27th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $37.34.

James Hardie Industries Stock Down 3.6%

NYSE JHX traded down $0.97 on Monday, reaching $25.97. 2,990,143 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,261,236. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 2.10. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $26.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.46. The company has a market cap of $11.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.75. James Hardie Industries has a 12 month low of $19.72 and a 12 month high of $43.57.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The construction company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $971.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $983.86 million. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 31.52%. The firm's revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.61 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that James Hardie Industries will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JHX. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $1,100,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,572 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $511,000 after purchasing an additional 4,245 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 33,952 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 4,802 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,416 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 865 shares during the period. Finally, OLD Mission Capital LLC acquired a new stake in James Hardie Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,025,000. 7.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.