Concentric Capital Strategies LP Acquires Shares of 145,133 James Hardie Industries PLC. $JHX

Key Points

• Concentric Capital Strategies LP acquired a new stake in James Hardie Industries PLC, purchasing 145,133 shares valued at approximately $3.42 million during the first quarter.
• James Hardie reported a quarterly earnings miss, with earnings per share of $0.29, falling short of the consensus estimate of $0.36, and revenue decreased by 9.3% year-over-year.
• Recent analyst ratings include a price objective reduction from $32.00 to $25.00 by Robert W. Baird, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $33.27.

Concentric Capital Strategies LP purchased a new position in James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 145,133 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $3,419,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised 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 in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its position in James Hardie Industries by 7.2% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 10,687 shares of the construction company's stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in James Hardie Industries by 10.3% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,694 shares of the construction company's stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 999 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in James Hardie Industries by 3.6% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 29,012 shares of the construction company's stock worth $684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in James Hardie Industries by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 72,779 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,242,000 after purchasing an additional 1,432 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.96% of the company's stock.

James Hardie Industries Price Performance

Shares of JHX traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.20. 8,488,068 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,820,562. James Hardie Industries PLC. has a one year low of $17.91 and a one year high of $43.57. The company has a current ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 3.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The business has a 50-day moving average of $25.60 and a 200 day moving average of $25.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.74.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 19th. 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 net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 27.95%. The company had revenue of $899.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $982.60 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. James Hardie Industries's revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that James Hardie Industries PLC. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on JHX. Baird R W raised shares of James Hardie Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Robert W. Baird decreased 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, August 20th. Macquarie raised shares of James Hardie Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research note on Friday, August 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $34.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of James Hardie Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, James Hardie Industries presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $33.27.

James Hardie Industries 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.