James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Upgraded at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) from an underperform rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $27.35 target price on the construction company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $27.40.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Macquarie cut shares of James Hardie Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Truist Financial began coverage on James Hardie Industries in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James set a $55.00 target price on James Hardie Industries in a research report on Monday, March 24th. StockNews.com upgraded James Hardie Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.45.

James Hardie Industries Stock Performance

NYSE JHX opened at $24.24 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.50. James Hardie Industries has a 1-year low of $23.23 and a 1-year high of $43.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.42 billion, a PE ratio of 24.00, a P/E/G ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 1.84.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $953.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $967.63 million. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 11.15% and a return on equity of 33.65%. On average, research analysts predict 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 large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in James Hardie Industries by 63.6% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 8,694 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 3,381 shares during the period. GTS Securities LLC purchased a new position in James Hardie Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $401,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 63,915 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,969,000 after buying an additional 5,339 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in James Hardie Industries by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 19,561 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 2,524 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in James Hardie Industries by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 964,583 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,718,000 after acquiring an additional 161,059 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

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.