James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Now Covered by Analysts at William Blair

William Blair began coverage on shares of James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX - Free Report) in a research note published on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an outperform rating on the construction company's stock.

JHX has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America upgraded James Hardie Industries from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $27.40 to $27.35 in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of James Hardie Industries from $45.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of James Hardie Industries from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Macquarie cut James Hardie Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered James Hardie Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, James Hardie Industries currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $39.12.

James Hardie Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JHX traded down $0.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $26.95. The stock had a trading volume of 16,472,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,511,770. The company has a market cap of $11.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.73. The business's 50 day moving average price is $24.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.09. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. James Hardie Industries has a 1 year low of $19.72 and a 1 year 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 business had revenue of $971.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.61 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that James Hardie Industries will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 9,695 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 18,074 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $616,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in James Hardie Industries by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 52,106 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 11,353 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in James Hardie Industries by 262.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,286 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 2,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,965 shares of the construction company's stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. 7.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.