James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Upgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. to “Overweight” Rating

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded James Hardie Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th.

James Hardie Industries Trading Down 1.7 %

JHX stock opened at $31.79 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.44. James Hardie Industries has a 1-year low of $28.46 and a 1-year high of $43.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.45. The company has a market capitalization of $13.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.41, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.76.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The construction company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $991.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 12.78% and a return on equity of 38.01%. James Hardie Industries’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.39 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that James Hardie Industries will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JHX. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in James Hardie Industries during the second quarter valued at $12,162,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in James Hardie Industries by 39.7% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 313,931 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $12,697,000 after acquiring an additional 89,165 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in James Hardie Industries by 317.2% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 172,460 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,924,000 after acquiring an additional 131,120 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its position in James Hardie Industries by 16.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 77,168 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,098,000 after purchasing an additional 10,803 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 70,496 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,223,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. 7.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.