James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Reaches New 52-Week Low on Disappointing Earnings

James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $18.50 and last traded at $18.05, with a volume of 6209650 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $28.43.

The construction company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.07). James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 28.55% and a net margin of 8.75%.The firm had revenue of $899.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $982.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on JHX. Macquarie raised shares of James Hardie Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of James Hardie Industries from $32.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of James Hardie Industries from $35.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of James Hardie Industries in a report on Friday, August 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $34.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eight have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.27.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JHX. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 430.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 265,398 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,137,000 after purchasing an additional 215,398 shares in the last quarter. Rexford Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at about $129,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 95,062.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 22,839 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $614,000 after acquiring an additional 22,815 shares during the last quarter. Conversant Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at about $21,512,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 34.4% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 15,443 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 3,954 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

James Hardie Industries Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 2.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $26.88 and a 200-day moving average of $26.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.74.

About James Hardie Industries

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.