James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Should You Buy?

Shares of James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 1,979,419 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 74% from the previous session's volume of 1,140,113 shares.The stock last traded at $25.16 and had previously closed at $24.63.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on JHX shares. Bank of America upgraded James Hardie Industries from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $27.40 to $27.35 in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Raymond James Financial set a $55.00 target price on James Hardie Industries in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on James Hardie Industries from $45.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered James Hardie Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Macquarie lowered James Hardie Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, James Hardie Industries presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $39.12.

James Hardie Industries Stock 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 market capitalization of $11.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.73. The business has a 50 day moving average of $24.53 and a 200-day moving average of $28.23.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The construction company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.61 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that James Hardie Industries PLC. will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of James Hardie Industries

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 972 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,260 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries during the 1st quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 262.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,286 shares of the construction company's stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 2,380 shares in the last quarter. 7.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.