Acadian Asset Management LLC Sells 45,704 Shares of James Hardie Industries PLC. $JHX

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in James Hardie Industries PLC by 29.9%, now holding 107,376 shares worth approximately $2.5 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Jane Street Group and Goldman Sachs, have increased their positions in the company significantly during the same period.
• James Hardie reported a quarterly EPS of $0.29, missing estimates, and its revenue declined by 9.3% year-over-year, with analysts forecasting an earnings per share of 1.39 for the current fiscal year.

Acadian Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX - Free Report) by 29.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,376 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 45,704 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC's holdings in James Hardie Industries were worth $2,527,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in James Hardie Industries in the first quarter worth about $57,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in James Hardie Industries by 12.1% in the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,683 shares of the construction company's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in James Hardie Industries by 49.0% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 7,776 shares of the construction company's stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 2,556 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 854.5% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 7,875 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 7,050 shares during the period. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 672.7% in the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 8,500 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 7,400 shares during the period. 7.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

James Hardie Industries Stock Performance

JHX traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $19.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,911,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,414,467. James Hardie Industries PLC. has a 52 week low of $17.91 and a 52 week high of $43.57. The company's 50-day moving average is $23.93 and its 200-day moving average is $24.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 3.31 and a current ratio of 3.76. The firm has a market cap of $8.30 billion, a PE ratio of 25.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.74.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 19th. The construction company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $899.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $982.60 million. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 27.95%. The firm's revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that James Hardie Industries PLC. will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on JHX. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on James Hardie Industries in a research note on Friday, August 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $34.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of James Hardie Industries from $32.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Macquarie upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research report on Friday, June 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.27.

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.