Analyzing Gibraltar Industries (NASDAQ:ROCK) and James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX)

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) and Gibraltar Industries (NASDAQ:ROCK) are both construction companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and profitability.

Risk & Volatility

James Hardie Industries has a beta of 1.8, indicating that its stock price is 80% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gibraltar Industries has a beta of 1.32, indicating that its stock price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

8.0% of James Hardie Industries shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.4% of Gibraltar Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Gibraltar Industries shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares James Hardie Industries and Gibraltar Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
James Hardie Industries	2.70%	13.52%	5.81%
Gibraltar Industries	0.35%	12.58%	8.82%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares James Hardie Industries and Gibraltar Industries”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
James Hardie Industries	$3.88 billion	2.87	$424.00 million	$0.27	95.76
Gibraltar Industries	$1.31 billion	1.24	$137.34 million	$0.08	684.50

James Hardie Industries has higher revenue and earnings than Gibraltar Industries. James Hardie Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Gibraltar Industries, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for James Hardie Industries and Gibraltar Industries, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
James Hardie Industries	0	3	12	1	2.88
Gibraltar Industries	2	0	0	1	2.00

James Hardie Industries presently has a consensus price target of $26.71, indicating a potential upside of 3.29%. Given James Hardie Industries’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe James Hardie Industries is more favorable than Gibraltar Industries.

Summary

James Hardie Industries beats Gibraltar Industries on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. It offers fiber cement interior linings, exterior siding products, and related accessories; and various fiber cement products for a range of applications, including external cladding, internal walls, ceilings, floors, soffits, fences, and facades. The company also provides fiber gypsum and cement-bonded boards for use in the timber frame construction, dry lining, DIY, and structural fire protection applications. Its products are used in residential repair and remodel, and commercial and residential new construction markets James Hardie Industries plc was founded in 1888 and is based in Dublin, Ireland.

About Gibraltar Industries

Gibraltar Industries, Inc. manufactures and provides products and services for the renewable energy, residential, agtech, and infrastructure markets in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: Renewables, Residential, Agtech, and Infrastructure. The Renewables segment designs, engineers, manufactures, and installs solar racking and electrical balance of systems for commercial and distributed generation scale solar installations. The Residential segment offers roof and foundation ventilation products and accessories; mail and electronic package solutions, including single mailboxes, cluster style mail and parcel boxes for single and multi-family housing, and electronic package locker systems; roof edgings and flashings; soffits and trims; drywall corner beads; metal roofing and accessories; rain dispersion products comprising gutters and accessories; and exterior retractable awnings. This segment also provides electronic parcel lockers, pipe flashings, and remote-controlled deck awnings and valances for sun protection. The Agtech segment offers growing and processing solutions, including the designing, engineering, manufacturing, construction, maintenance, and support of greenhouses; and indoor growing operations for retail, fruits and vegetables, flowers, cannabis, commercial, institutional and conservatories, and car wash structure applications. The Infrastructure segment offers expansion joints, structural bearings, rubber pre-formed seals and other sealants, elastomeric concrete, and bridge cable protection systems. It serves solar developers, home improvement retailers, wholesalers, distributors, and contractors, as well as institutional and commercial growers of fruit, vegetables, flowers, and plants. Gibraltar Industries, Inc. was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Buffalo, New York.