James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded James Hardie Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th.

James Hardie Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JHX traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $31.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 117,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 74,502. James Hardie Industries has a fifty-two week low of $29.24 and a fifty-two week high of $43.57. The company has a market capitalization of $13.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.43.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 13th. The construction company reported $0.41 EPS 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 return on equity of 38.01% and a net margin of 12.78%. The company’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that James Hardie Industries will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JHX. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 55.7% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,045 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 46.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,365 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank acquired a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries during the 1st quarter worth approximately $71,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

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.