James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Shares Up 10.5% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Shares jumped 10.5% to about $20.70 on Wednesday, with ~3.42M shares traded (a 48% decline vs. average daily volume) after closing at $18.74 the prior session.
• Analysts are mixed but leaning positive: the consensus rating is a Moderate Buy with a $26.13 average target (10 Buys, 4 Holds), while individual notes ranged from Barclays cutting its target to $22 to Truist lifting its target to $30.
• James Hardie slightly beat the quarter with $0.24 EPS vs. $0.23 expected and $1.24B revenue (up 30.1% YoY); the stock trades at a P/E of ~75.6 and a market cap of $8.78B.

James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) shares rose 10.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $20.98 and last traded at $20.7040. Approximately 3,418,065 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 48% from the average daily volume of 6,615,759 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JHX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on James Hardie Industries from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial upped their price objective on James Hardie Industries from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Zacks Research downgraded James Hardie Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded James Hardie Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $26.13.

James Hardie Industries Stock Up 9.0%

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $22.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $8.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.84.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The construction company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 13.52% and a net margin of 2.70%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 30.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that James Hardie Industries PLC. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in James Hardie Industries by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 50,801 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,197,000 after buying an additional 7,396 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 160.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,697,663 shares of the construction company's stock worth $63,557,000 after acquiring an additional 1,662,743 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 222.4% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 279,009 shares of the construction company's stock worth $6,573,000 after acquiring an additional 192,478 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 49.2% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 11,603 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 3,827 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 11,238.5% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,474 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461 shares in the last quarter. 7.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

James Hardie Industries Company Profile

James Hardie Industries plc NYSE: JHX is a global manufacturer of high-performance fiber cement building products. The company specializes in exterior cladding, trim and soffit, as well as interior backerboard solutions designed for residential and commercial construction. By combining cement, sand and cellulose fibers, James Hardie produces durable, low-maintenance materials that resist moisture, fire and termite damage, catering to builders, contractors and homeowners through a network of distributors and retail channels.

The company's flagship products include Hardie® Plank® and Hardie® Panel® siding systems, Hardie® BackerBoard® for tile applications, and a range of architectural trim solutions.

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