James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts assign James Hardie an average rating of Moderate Buy (10 buys, 4 holds) with a one‑year average price target of $26.13; recent notable moves include Truist raising its PT to $30 (buy), JPMorgan upgrading to overweight, and Barclays cutting its PT to $22 (equal weight).
• The company reported quarterly revenue up 30.1% year‑over‑year and an EPS beat ($0.24 vs. $0.23), but the stock trades at a high valuation (P/E ~82.6) with a market cap near $9.6 billion.
• Institutional activity is significant: Wellington Management increased its stake by 259.7% to 50.65 million shares and several other large investors established or expanded positions, with about 7.96% of the stock held by hedge funds/institutions.

Shares of James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $26.1250.

JHX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research lowered James Hardie Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of James Hardie Industries from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on James Hardie Industries from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JHX. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in James Hardie Industries by 259.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 50,649,731 shares of the construction company's stock worth $972,981,000 after buying an additional 36,567,726 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd. purchased a new position in James Hardie Industries during the third quarter worth about $105,839,000. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in James Hardie Industries during the third quarter worth about $86,121,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in James Hardie Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $77,530,000. Finally, RDST Capital LLC purchased a new position in James Hardie Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $55,893,000. 7.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

James Hardie Industries Trading Up 1.5%

JHX opened at $22.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $9.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 1.84. James Hardie Industries has a 52 week low of $16.46 and a 52 week high of $29.83. The business's 50 day moving average is $21.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The construction company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 13.52% and a net margin of 2.70%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 30.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.36 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that James Hardie Industries will post 1.12 EPS for the current 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.

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