James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Sees Large Volume Increase

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 101,084 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 47% from the previous session’s volume of 68,931 shares.The stock last traded at $39.22 and had previously closed at $38.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

James Hardie Industries Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.12 billion, a PE ratio of 34.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 1.74. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $35.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.15.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The construction company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.03. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 12.78% and a return on equity of 38.01%. The company had revenue of $991.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that James Hardie Industries plc will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in James Hardie Industries in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in James Hardie Industries by 55.7% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,045 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in James Hardie Industries by 693.2% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,158 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 38.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,219 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries in the first quarter valued at approximately $71,000. 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.