James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $24.29, but opened at $23.50. James Hardie Industries shares last traded at $23.85, with a volume of 249,142 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of 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 research note on Thursday, March 27th. Macquarie lowered James Hardie Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley raised James Hardie Industries from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Truist Financial set a $45.00 price objective on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.45.

James Hardie Industries Trading Down 3.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.09 billion, a PE ratio of 23.30, a P/E/G ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 1.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.23.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 33.65% and a net margin of 11.15%. The business had revenue of $953.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $967.63 million. Sell-side analysts expect that James Hardie Industries plc will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JHX. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in James Hardie Industries by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 964,583 shares of the construction company's stock worth $29,718,000 after buying an additional 161,059 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 453,206 shares of the construction company's stock worth $13,963,000 after acquiring an additional 73,504 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in James Hardie Industries by 76.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 374,164 shares of the construction company's stock worth $11,528,000 after acquiring an additional 161,899 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 190,243 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,861,000 after purchasing an additional 17,783 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 122,127 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,763,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.

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