James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) Short Interest Update

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,020,000 shares, a growth of 19,173.5% from the March 15th total of 46,800 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,200,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Macquarie lowered James Hardie Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of James Hardie Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial set a $45.00 price objective on James Hardie Industries in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of James Hardie Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.45.

James Hardie Industries Price Performance

Shares of JHX opened at $22.32 on Tuesday. James Hardie Industries has a fifty-two week low of $19.72 and a fifty-two week high of $43.57. 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 company has a market capitalization of $9.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.10, a P/E/G ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 1.80. The business’s 50-day moving average is $28.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.17.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $953.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $967.63 million. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 11.15% and a return on equity of 33.65%. Research analysts predict that James Hardie Industries will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 972 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,551 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in James Hardie Industries by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 52,416 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 18,074 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $616,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

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.