James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 30,260,000 shares, a growth of 26.6% from the May 15th total of 23,900,000 shares. Approximately 7.0% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,480,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on JHX shares. Bank of America raised shares of James Hardie Industries from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $27.40 to $27.35 in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective 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. Macquarie cut James Hardie Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded James Hardie Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $39.12.

James Hardie Industries Stock Down 3.3%

Shares of James Hardie Industries stock traded down $0.83 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $24.24. 4,906,196 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,062,342. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $24.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.72. The stock has a market cap of $10.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.73. James Hardie Industries has a 12-month low of $19.72 and a 12-month high of $43.57.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 31.52%. The business had revenue of $971.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $983.86 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.61 EPS. The company's revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that James Hardie Industries will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of James Hardie Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in James Hardie Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries during the first quarter worth about $57,000. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,260 shares of the construction company's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,683 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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