James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Reaches New 1-Year Low on Disappointing Earnings

Key Points

• James Hardie Industries hit a new 12-month low of $18.05 after reporting earnings that missed analysts' expectations, with a quarterly EPS of $0.29 against a consensus estimate of $0.36.
• The company's revenue for the quarter was $899.90 million, falling short of the anticipated $982.60 million and representing a 9.3% year-over-year decline.
• Despite a challenging earnings report, the stock retains a consensus rating of “Buy” among analysts, with a target average price of $35.27.

James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $18.50 and last traded at $18.05, with a volume of 6209650 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $28.43.

The construction company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $899.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on JHX. Baird R W upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group began 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 target on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of James Hardie Industries from $35.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research note on Thursday. Finally, William Blair began coverage on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research note on Friday, June 27th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $33.27.

Institutional Trading of James Hardie Industries

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 430.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 265,398 shares of the construction company's stock worth $7,137,000 after buying an additional 215,398 shares during the period. Rexford Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries during the 2nd quarter worth $129,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 95,062.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 22,839 shares of the construction company's stock worth $614,000 after buying an additional 22,815 shares during the period. Conversant Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries during the 2nd quarter worth $21,512,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 34.4% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 15,443 shares of the construction company's stock worth $415,000 after buying an additional 3,954 shares during the period. 7.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

James Hardie Industries Trading Up 3.8%

The company has a current ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company's fifty day moving average is $26.63 and its 200-day moving average is $26.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.74.

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.