James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Upgraded at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

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

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

James Hardie Industries Stock Down 1.7 %

JHX stock opened at $31.79 on Wednesday. James Hardie Industries has a fifty-two week low of $28.46 and a fifty-two week high of $43.57. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $35.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.94. The firm 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.03. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 12.78% and a return on equity of 38.01%. The firm had revenue of $991.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that James Hardie Industries will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries during the second quarter worth about $12,162,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 131,120 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $12,697,000 after buying an additional 89,165 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries during the third quarter worth approximately $2,369,000. Finally, Boston Common Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries during the second quarter worth approximately $1,671,000. 7.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.