James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Here's Why

James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 3,528,161 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 135% from the previous session's volume of 1,499,666 shares.The stock last traded at $27.86 and had previously closed at $28.77.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JHX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Macquarie downgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Wall Street Zen cut James Hardie Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Bank of America upgraded James Hardie Industries from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $27.40 to $27.35 in a report on Thursday, March 27th. 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. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $39.12.

James Hardie Industries Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $12.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.11, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.75. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.90.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The construction company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.01). James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 31.52%. The company had revenue of $971.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $983.86 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.61 earnings per share. James Hardie Industries's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that James Hardie Industries PLC. will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JHX. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,694 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 999 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 222.4% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 279,009 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $6,573,000 after buying an additional 192,478 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 160.7% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 5,001.3% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 997,875 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $23,510,000 after buying an additional 978,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ionic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in James Hardie Industries in the 1st quarter worth approximately $377,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.96% of the company's stock.

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.