James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Issues Earnings Results

Key Points

• James Hardie Industries reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.29 for the quarter, falling short of the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.08.
• The company's stock price decreased by 2.0% to $28.34 following the earnings report, with a significant trading volume of over 9 million shares.
• A variety of institutional investors have increased their stakes in James Hardie Industries, with some firms growing their holdings by more than 200% in the recent quarters.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The construction company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.07), Zacks reports. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 31.52%. The business had revenue of $899.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $982.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. James Hardie Industries's revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis.

James Hardie Industries Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of James Hardie Industries stock opened at $28.3350 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $27.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.87. James Hardie Industries has a 1 year low of $19.72 and a 1 year high of $43.57. The stock has a market cap of $12.18 billion, a PE ratio of 28.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on JHX shares. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research note on Friday, July 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of James Hardie Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. William Blair started coverage on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research report on Friday, June 27th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research report on Friday, August 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of James Hardie Industries from $45.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eight have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $36.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in James Hardie Industries by 160.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,697,663 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $63,557,000 after buying an additional 1,662,743 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 74.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,204,888 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $59,289,000 after purchasing an additional 943,929 shares during the period. Moore Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries in the second quarter valued at about $48,927,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 31.1% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,428,272 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $38,406,000 after purchasing an additional 338,504 shares during the period. Finally, Sea Cliff Partners Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries in the second quarter valued at about $24,426,000. 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.