James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 46,900 shares, a decrease of 18.9% from the August 31st total of 57,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 85,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.5 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 28,262 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,764 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 36,658 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,418,000 after buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Barometer Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in James Hardie Industries during the 4th quarter worth $120,000. Syon Capital LLC lifted its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 40.2% during the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 10,993 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $425,000 after acquiring an additional 3,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,002,215 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $38,756,000 after acquiring an additional 11,235 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th.

James Hardie Industries Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of James Hardie Industries stock traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $39.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 661,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 71,929. James Hardie Industries has a 1-year low of $24.28 and a 1-year high of $43.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.02, a PEG ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 1.74. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.18.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The construction company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $991.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 12.78% and a return on equity of 38.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that James Hardie Industries will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

James Hardie Industries Company Profile

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.