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

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 172,300 shares, an increase of 428.5% from the November 15th total of 32,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 107,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of James Hardie Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on James Hardie Industries in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded James Hardie Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, James Hardie Industries has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.25.

James Hardie Industries Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of James Hardie Industries stock traded down $0.15 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $34.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 68,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 74,406. The stock has a market cap of $14.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.50. James Hardie Industries has a 52 week low of $29.88 and a 52 week high of $43.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $35.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.48.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The construction company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 35.93% and a net margin of 11.16%. The business had revenue of $960.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $973.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that James Hardie Industries will post 1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of James Hardie Industries

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in James Hardie Industries by 55.7% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,045 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 374 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 46.3% during the third 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. Huntington National Bank bought a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries during the third quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries in the 2nd quarter worth $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

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.