James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $31.79, but opened at $34.68. James Hardie Industries shares last traded at $35.06, with a volume of 24,234 shares.

The construction company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 36.30% and a net margin of 11.16%. The firm had revenue of $960.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $973.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on JHX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised James Hardie Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com downgraded James Hardie Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of JHX. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in James Hardie Industries by 55.7% during the second 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 last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank bought a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries in the 3rd quarter worth about $55,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at about $66,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries during the 1st quarter valued at about $71,000. 7.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

James Hardie Industries Stock Up 1.6 %

The firm has a market cap of $15.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.82, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $35.67 and a 200 day moving average of $34.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

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.