Short Interest in James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) Decreases By 25.1%

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 37,300 shares, a drop of 25.1% from the February 13th total of 49,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 91,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.4 days. Currently, 0.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on JHX. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of James Hardie Industries in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of James Hardie Industries in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of James Hardie Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 972 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 4.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,551 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. 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 purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 18,074 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,220 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

James Hardie Industries Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of JHX stock traded up $0.60 during trading on Monday, hitting $32.56. 72,837 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 82,818. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.23, a P/E/G ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 1.84. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.21. James Hardie Industries has a twelve month low of $29.88 and a twelve month high of $43.57.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $953.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $967.63 million. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 11.15% and a return on equity of 33.65%. As a group, analysts forecast that James Hardie Industries will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal 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.