Cercano Management LLC Invests $4.57 Million in James Hardie Industries PLC. $JHX

Cercano Management LLC purchased a new position in James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 237,647 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,565,000. Cercano Management LLC owned about 0.06% of James Hardie Industries at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JHX. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $654,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,115,000. Phoenix Financial Ltd. bought a new position in James Hardie Industries during the third quarter worth $105,839,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in James Hardie Industries by 6.9% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,600,870 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $261,273,000 after purchasing an additional 882,795 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tabor Asset Management LP acquired a new position in James Hardie Industries in the second quarter worth $5,542,000. 7.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

James Hardie Industries Stock Down 2.3%

JHX stock opened at $25.28 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $10.87 billion, a PE ratio of 93.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 1.80. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.48. James Hardie Industries PLC. has a fifty-two week low of $16.46 and a fifty-two week high of $32.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The construction company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.01. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 2.70% and a return on equity of 13.52%. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.36 EPS. James Hardie Industries’s revenue was up 30.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that James Hardie Industries PLC. will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on JHX. Vertical Research raised shares of James Hardie Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Zacks Research raised shares of James Hardie Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of James Hardie Industries from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of James Hardie Industries from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised James Hardie Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.71.

James Hardie Industries Profile

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE: JHX) is a global manufacturer of high-performance fiber cement building products. The company specializes in exterior cladding, trim and soffit, as well as interior backerboard solutions designed for residential and commercial construction. By combining cement, sand and cellulose fibers, James Hardie produces durable, low-maintenance materials that resist moisture, fire and termite damage, catering to builders, contractors and homeowners through a network of distributors and retail channels.

The company’s flagship products include Hardie® Plank® and Hardie® Panel® siding systems, Hardie® BackerBoard® for tile applications, and a range of architectural trim solutions.