James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) Short Interest Update

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 81,200 shares, an increase of 165.4% from the January 15th total of 30,600 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 94,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JHX. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 972 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in James Hardie Industries by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,494 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in James Hardie Industries by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,551 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 52,416 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,615,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in James Hardie Industries by 46.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,365 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. 7.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

James Hardie Industries Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE JHX traded down $0.59 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $32.74. The stock had a trading volume of 39,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 99,586. James Hardie Industries has a one year low of $29.88 and a one year high of $43.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 1.81. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.02.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The construction company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 35.93%. The business had revenue of $960.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $973.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that James Hardie Industries will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of James Hardie Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 25th. Truist Financial began coverage on James Hardie Industries in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.00.

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.