James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) Short Interest Update
by Michael Walen · The Markets DailyJames Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 14,325,330 shares, a drop of 18.1% from the February 26th total of 17,500,155 shares. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,823,429 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research firms recently commented on JHX. Raymond James Financial set a $21.00 price objective on James Hardie Industries in a research report on Monday, December 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded James Hardie Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Zacks Research lowered shares of James Hardie Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of James Hardie Industries from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of James Hardie Industries from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.63.
Read Our Latest Research Report on JHX
James Hardie Industries Price Performance
Shares of NYSE JHX traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $17.52. The stock had a trading volume of 4,224,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,511,241. The company has a market capitalization of $7.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 1.78. James Hardie Industries has a 12-month low of $16.46 and a 12-month high of $29.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $22.78 and a 200-day moving average of $21.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.54.
James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The construction company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 2.70% and a return on equity of 13.52%. James Hardie Industries’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.36 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that James Hardie Industries will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On James Hardie Industries
A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JHX. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in James Hardie Industries by 259.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 50,649,731 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $972,981,000 after purchasing an additional 36,567,726 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in James Hardie Industries by 6.9% in the 3rd 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 period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,690,174 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $201,071,000 after buying an additional 1,758,111 shares in the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $105,839,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 5,166,115 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $107,197,000 after buying an additional 634,354 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 7.96% of the company’s stock.
James Hardie Industries Company 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.