KEQU vs JHX Stock Comparison

Kewaunee Scientific and James Hardie Industries Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Kewaunee Scientific leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Kewaunee Scientific 7, James Hardie Industries 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionKEQUJHXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $101.27M $15.27B JHX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 12.2x 104.8x KEQU
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 18.7x –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.3% +42.9% JHX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 3.0% 2.7% KEQU
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.2% 2.6% KEQU
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.2x 3.5x KEQU
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -20.9% +19.7% JHX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +22.1%/yr -7.8%/yr KEQU
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.1% 45.1% KEQU
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 65/100 34/100 KEQU

Percentile Scorecard

KEQUJHX

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisKEQUJHX
Valuation 98 #2 of 56 22 #44 of 56
Growth 57 #23 of 52 47 #28 of 52
Profitability 35 #32 of 49 40 #30 of 49
Financial Health 62 #22 of 56 31 #39 of 56
Shareholder Returns 75 #11 of 41 33 #28 of 41
Overall 65 34
  • KEQU ranked among 60 companies in Construction Products
  • JHX ranked among 60 companies in Construction Products

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodKEQUJHXSPY
1 month +2.8%+0.8% -0.2%
3 months -1.7%-2.2% +3.9%
6 months -5.8%+20.7% +8.2%
Year to date -6.5%+26.8% +12.9%
1 year -20.9%+19.7% +12.3%
3 years +91.7%+7.3% +87.4%
3 years, per year +24.2%+2.4% +23.3%
5 years +171.2%-33.2% +67.9%
5 years, per year +22.1%-7.8% +10.9%
10 years +60.5%+73.0% +261.1%
10 years, per year +4.8%+5.6% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureKEQUJHXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.1%45.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 37.8%41.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.651.72 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.580.44 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -55.4%-60.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -20.9%-15.4% -1.2%
52-week high $44.21$31.09 $779.14
52-week low $32.19$16.69 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleKEQUJHX
P/E now vs peer median 12.2xmedian 20.1x 104.8xmedian 20.1x
P/S now vs peer median 0.4xmedian 1.5x 2.8xmedian 1.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 6.2xmedian 11.8x 17.1xmedian 11.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 9.3xmedian 16.2x 42.8xmedian 16.2x
P/B now vs peer median 1.3xmedian 2.9x 2.3xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median 0.45median 0.99 -2.64median 0.99

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsKEQUJHX
Revenue $277.22M $5.41B
Gross profit $79.15M $1.94B
Operating income $15.06M $526.70M
Net income $9.06M $145.70M
Free cash flow $10.88M $356.40M
R&D – $64.00M
EPS (diluted) $2.82 $0.25
Cash & equivalents $8.25M $289.90M
Total debt $32.83M $4.28B
Shares (diluted) 2.92M 584.30M
Enterprise value $64.54M $14.34B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricKEQUJHX
P/E 12.2x 104.8x
P/FCF 9.3x 42.8x
P/Operating cash flow 6.8x 21.0x
P/S 0.4x 2.8x
P/B 1.3x 2.3x
P/Tangible book 1.7x 4.7x
EV/EBITDA 6.2x 17.1x
EV/EBIT 8.4x 36.6x
EV/Revenue 0.5x 3.6x
EV/FCF 11.6x 54.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 8.5x 26.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.45 -2.64

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKEQUJHX
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.3% 42.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.1% 13.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 2.4% 34.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 24.2% 13.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) -24.7% -5.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 16.3% -11.3%
Net income growth (1Y) -27.5% -56.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 22.3% -34.0%
EPS growth (1Y) -32.1% -67.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 27.1% -39.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -30.7% -11.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 177.0% 1.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -41.8% 110.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 62.7% 75.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKEQUJHX
Gross margin 28.6% 35.9%
EBITDA margin 7.4% 20.9%
Operating margin 5.4% 9.7%
Pretax margin 4.5% 5.1%
Net margin 3.0% 2.7%
FCF margin 3.9% 6.6%
Operating cash flow margin 5.3% 13.4%
Return on equity 11.9% 2.2%
Return on assets 5.2% 1.0%
Return on invested capital 10.2% 2.6%
Return on capital employed 11.6% 4.2%
Asset turnover 1.6x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 5.0x
Stock comp / revenue 1.3% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKEQUJHX
Debt / assets 18.7% 31.7%
Debt / equity 0.4x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.2x 3.5x
Debt / FCF 3.0x 12.0x
Liabilities / assets 56.1% 51.5%
Equity / assets 43.9% 48.5%
Interest coverage 4.4x 1.8x
Current ratio 2.2x 1.6x
Quick ratio 1.4x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 3.42 2.11

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKEQUJHX
Dividend yield – –
Net buyback yield 3.3% 2.0%
Shareholder yield 3.3% 2.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusKEQUJHX
Forward P/E – 18.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year – $1.41FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +29.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +12.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year – $5.13BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – +6.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after – +15.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKEQUJHX
Held by institutions 41.8% 49.9%
Institutions holding 32 340
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.0% +7.1%
Institutions buying 11 190
Institutions selling 7 100
Buyers to sellers 1.57 1.90

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

KEQUJHX
KEQU 1.00 0.13
JHX 0.13 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KEQU and JHX?

James Hardie Industries (JHX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Kewaunee Scientific (KEQU) $101.27M, James Hardie Industries (JHX) $15.27B.

Which stock is cheaper, KEQU and JHX?

Kewaunee Scientific (KEQU) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Kewaunee Scientific (KEQU) 12.2x, James Hardie Industries (JHX) 104.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

James Hardie Industries (JHX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Kewaunee Scientific (KEQU) +5.3%, James Hardie Industries (JHX) +42.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Kewaunee Scientific (KEQU) has the highest net margin (Kewaunee Scientific (KEQU) 3.0%, James Hardie Industries (JHX) 2.7%). On return on invested capital, Kewaunee Scientific (KEQU) leads (Kewaunee Scientific (KEQU) 10.2%, James Hardie Industries (JHX) 2.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year James Hardie Industries (JHX) returned the most: Kewaunee Scientific (KEQU) -20.9%, James Hardie Industries (JHX) +19.7%. Over five years, Kewaunee Scientific (KEQU) compounded fastest (Kewaunee Scientific (KEQU) +22.1%/yr, James Hardie Industries (JHX) -7.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Kewaunee Scientific (KEQU) has been the steadiest (Kewaunee Scientific (KEQU) 36.1%, James Hardie Industries (JHX) 45.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do KEQU and JHX move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.13, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, KEQU and JHX?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Kewaunee Scientific (KEQU) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.