James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Upgraded to "Strong-Buy" by StockNews.com

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

Separately, Bank of America downgraded James Hardie Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $35.50 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd.

James Hardie Industries Stock Performance

NYSE:JHX traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $39.79. 76,864 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 48,259. James Hardie Industries has a twelve month low of $21.14 and a twelve month high of $41.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $39.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.69.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The construction company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $978.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.23 million. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 13.93% and a return on equity of 38.75%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that James Hardie Industries will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of James Hardie Industries

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 231.6% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 3,170 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 2,214 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA raised its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 880.0% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 1,960 shares of the construction company's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 1,760 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC raised its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 327.2% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 2,217 shares of the construction company's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Group Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 150.7% in the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 2,472 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 1,486 shares during the period. 7.96% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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