James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Trading 5.6% Higher - Should You Buy?

James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) shares were up 5.6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $27.27 and last traded at $27.20. 2,390,790 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 100% from the average session volume of 1,192,588 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JHX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial set a $55.00 price target on shares of James Hardie Industries in a report on Monday, March 24th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of James Hardie Industries from $45.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. 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. Wall Street Zen cut James Hardie Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Macquarie downgraded 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 six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, James Hardie Industries has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $39.12.

James Hardie Industries Stock Down 2.3%

The company's 50-day simple moving average is $24.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in JHX. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 972 shares of the construction company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries during the 1st quarter valued at $57,000. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,260 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,683 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. 7.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.