James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on JHX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of James Hardie Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of James Hardie Industries from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of James Hardie Industries from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.00.

James Hardie Industries Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of James Hardie Industries stock opened at $20.79 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.94 billion, a PE ratio of 94.49, a P/E/G ratio of 11.30 and a beta of 1.79. James Hardie Industries has a twelve month low of $16.46 and a twelve month high of $29.83. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $20.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 19th. The construction company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 2.15% and a return on equity of 11.13%. James Hardie Industries’s quarterly revenue was up 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.36 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that James Hardie Industries will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of James Hardie Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of JHX. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 50,801 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,197,000 after acquiring an additional 7,396 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 160.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,697,663 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $63,557,000 after acquiring an additional 1,662,743 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 222.4% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 279,009 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,573,000 after acquiring an additional 192,478 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 49.2% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 11,603 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 3,827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 11,238.5% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,474 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,461 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

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.