James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Upgraded by Morgan Stanley to "Overweight" Rating

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX - Free Report) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial began coverage on James Hardie Industries in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised James Hardie Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Macquarie cut shares of James Hardie Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.45.

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James Hardie Industries Stock Performance

NYSE JHX traded down $0.39 on Monday, hitting $24.25. 2,815,013 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 216,892. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $31.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.68. The firm has a market cap of $10.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.95, a P/E/G ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 1.84. James Hardie Industries has a fifty-two week low of $23.23 and a fifty-two week high of $43.57.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $953.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $967.63 million. James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 33.65% and a net margin of 11.15%. On average, research analysts expect that James Hardie Industries will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 76.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 374,164 shares of the construction company's stock worth $11,528,000 after purchasing an additional 161,899 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 964,583 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $29,718,000 after purchasing an additional 161,059 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in James Hardie Industries by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 453,206 shares of the construction company's stock worth $13,963,000 after purchasing an additional 73,504 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in James Hardie Industries by 184.4% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 86,531 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,666,000 after purchasing an additional 56,104 shares during the period. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $1,457,000. 7.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

James Hardie Industries Company Profile

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.