Yahoo Finance Why James Hardie Industries plc (ASX:JHX) Could Be Worth Watching
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While James Hardie Industries plc (ASX:JHX) might not be the most widely known stock at the moment, it saw a significant share price rise of over 20% in the past couple of months on the ASX. With many analysts covering the mid-cap stock, we may expect any price-sensitive announcements have already been factored into the stock’s share price. However, what if the stock is still a bargain? Let’s examine James Hardie Industries’s valuation and outlook in more detail to determine if there’s still a bargain opportunity.
Check out our latest analysis for James Hardie Industries
What is James Hardie Industries worth?
James Hardie Industries appears to be expensive according to my price multiple model, which makes a comparison between the company's price-to-earnings ratio and the industry average. In this instance, I’ve used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stock’s cash flows. I find that James Hardie Industries’s ratio of 35.68x is above its peer average of 28.4x, which suggests the stock is trading at a higher price compared to the Basic Materials industry. If you like the stock, you may want to keep an eye out for a potential price decline in the future. Since James Hardie Industries’s share price is quite volatile, this could mean it can sink lower (or rise even further) in the future, giving us another chance to invest. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for how much the stock moves relative to the rest of the market.
What does the future of James Hardie Industries look like?
Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. With profit expected to grow by 94% over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for James Hardie Industries. It looks like higher cash flow is on the cards for the stock, which should feed into a higher share valuation.
What this means for you:
Are you a shareholder? JHX’s optimistic future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading above industry price multiples. At this current price, shareholders may be asking a different question – should I sell? If you believe JHX should trade below its current price, selling high and buying it back up again when its price falls towards the industry PE ratio can be profitable. But before you make this decision, take a look at whether its fundamentals have changed.
Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping tabs on JHX for some time, now may not be the best time to enter into the stock. The price has surpassed its industry peers, which means it is likely that there is no more upside from mispricing. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for JHX, which means it’s worth diving deeper into other factors in order to take advantage of the next price drop.
So if you'd like to dive deeper into this stock, it's crucial to consider any risks it's facing. While conducting our analysis, we found that James Hardie Industries has 3 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore these.
If you are no longer interested in James Hardie Industries, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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