James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) Short Interest Up 5.8% in February

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX – Get Rating) saw a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 30,800 shares, an increase of 5.8% from the January 31st total of 29,100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 112,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on JHX. TheStreet upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, February 9th. CLSA lowered shares of James Hardie Industries from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of James Hardie Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of James Hardie Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of James Hardie Industries from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, James Hardie Industries currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.80.

James Hardie Industries Price Performance

NYSE:JHX opened at $21.15 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $9.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $21.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.90. James Hardie Industries has a 1-year low of $17.25 and a 1-year high of $34.86.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 13th. The construction company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.07). James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 12.61% and a return on equity of 44.72%. The company had revenue of $860.80 million during the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that James Hardie Industries will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in James Hardie Industries by 351.1% in the 4th quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,899 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,478 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA boosted its stake in James Hardie Industries by 880.0% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 1,960 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in James Hardie Industries by 150.7% during the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 2,472 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,486 shares during the last quarter. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in James Hardie Industries during the 3rd quarter worth $84,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in James Hardie Industries by 28.0% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,926 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.24% of the company’s stock.

James Hardie Industries Company Profile

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James Hardie Industries Plc engages in the manufacture of fiber cement siding and backer board. It operates through the following segments: North America Fiber Cement, Asia Pacific Fiber Cement, Europe Building Products, and Research & Development. The North America Fiber Cement segment manufactures fiber cement interior linings, exterior siding products and related accessories in the United States.