Citigroup Downgrades James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) to Neutral

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) was downgraded by stock analysts at Citigroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on JHX. Truist Financial boosted their price target on James Hardie Industries from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Loop Capital assumed coverage on James Hardie Industries in a research report on Monday, September 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens boosted their price objective on James Hardie Industries from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Barclays raised shares of James Hardie Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $35.00 in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $34.00 target price on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, James Hardie Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.75.

James Hardie Industries Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of JHX stock opened at $25.07 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. James Hardie Industries has a 12 month low of $16.46 and a 12 month high of $31.43. The stock has a market cap of $14.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 100.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.33.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The construction company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 2.69% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that James Hardie Industries will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 12.3% in the second quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,737,905 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $228,758,000 after acquiring an additional 954,317 shares during the period. Hill City Capital LP raised its stake in James Hardie Industries by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hill City Capital LP now owns 5,723,900 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $149,852,000 after purchasing an additional 102,200 shares during the period. RDST Capital LLC lifted its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter. RDST Capital LLC now owns 4,015,067 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $105,114,000 after purchasing an additional 776,950 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 48.5% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,839,489 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $72,720,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in James Hardie Industries by 22.5% in the 2nd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,166,998 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $57,707,000 after purchasing an additional 397,621 shares during the period. 7.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About James Hardie Industries

James Hardie Industries plc is a building materials company that manufactures and markets fiber cement and fiber gypsum products. Its products are used primarily in residential and commercial construction, including exterior siding, trim, soffits, backer board, and interior wall and flooring applications.

The company sells products under brands that include Hardie, HardiePlank, HardiePanel, and HardieBacker. Its fiber cement products are designed to provide durability and resistance to moisture, fire, pests, and weathering, serving builders, contractors, architects, and homeowners.

James Hardie traces its origins to Australia in the late 19th century and has since expanded into an international building products company.