James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) Short Interest Update

James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 12,372,801 shares, a drop of 36.3% from the July 15th total of 19,436,113 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,723,419 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new stake in James Hardie Industries during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in James Hardie Industries by 3,431.1% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,589 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,544 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 11,238.5% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,474 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in James Hardie Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens upped their price objective on James Hardie Industries from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Barclays upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $34.00 target price on James Hardie Industries in a report on Friday, August 7th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on James Hardie Industries from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on James Hardie Industries from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.50.

James Hardie Industries Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of NYSE JHX traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $30.26. The company had a trading volume of 2,572,278 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,098,453. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.56 billion, a PE ratio of 121.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $26.44 and its 200-day moving average is $23.36. James Hardie Industries has a twelve month low of $16.46 and a twelve month high of $31.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.59.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The construction company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.04. James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 2.69%.The company had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that James Hardie Industries will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About James Hardie Industries

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE: JHX) is a global manufacturer of high-performance fiber cement building products. The company specializes in exterior cladding, trim and soffit, as well as interior backerboard solutions designed for residential and commercial construction. By combining cement, sand and cellulose fibers, James Hardie produces durable, low-maintenance materials that resist moisture, fire and termite damage, catering to builders, contractors and homeowners through a network of distributors and retail channels.

The company’s flagship products include Hardie® Plank® and Hardie® Panel® siding systems, Hardie® BackerBoard® for tile applications, and a range of architectural trim solutions.