James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) Stock Short Interest Climbs 47.8%

Key Points

• Short interest surged 47.8% to 15.19 million shares as of September 15, representing 2.6% of JHX’s outstanding shares and a short-interest ratio of 1.8 days.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.75; nine analysts rate the stock Buy and three rate it Hold.
• James Hardie reported quarterly EPS of $0.36, beating estimates by $0.04, while revenue rose 63.9% year over year to $1.47 billion. The stock recently traded at $25.16, below its 50-day moving average of $28.35.

James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 15,189,864 shares, a growth of 47.8% from the August 31st total of 10,276,477 shares. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 8,630,189 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Institutional Trading of James Hardie Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JHX. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its position in James Hardie Industries by 12.3% during the second quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,737,905 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $228,758,000 after acquiring an additional 954,317 shares in the last quarter. Hill City Capital LP boosted its position in James Hardie Industries by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hill City Capital LP now owns 5,723,900 shares of the construction company's stock worth $149,852,000 after purchasing an additional 102,200 shares in the last quarter. RDST Capital LLC boosted its position in James Hardie Industries by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter. RDST Capital LLC now owns 4,015,067 shares of the construction company's stock worth $105,114,000 after purchasing an additional 776,950 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in James Hardie Industries by 48.5% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,839,489 shares of the construction company's stock worth $72,720,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 22.5% during the 2nd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,166,998 shares of the construction company's stock worth $57,707,000 after purchasing an additional 397,621 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of James Hardie Industries in a report on Monday, September 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial set a $35.00 target price on James Hardie Industries in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Truist Financial raised their target price on James Hardie Industries from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup cut James Hardie Industries from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, James Hardie Industries has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.75.

James Hardie Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:JHX traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $25.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,699,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,744,370. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $28.35 and a 200 day moving average of $24.37. James Hardie Industries has a twelve month low of $16.46 and a twelve month high of $31.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.60 billion, a PE ratio of 100.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.79.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The construction company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 2.69% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The firm's revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that James Hardie Industries will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

James Hardie Industries Company Profile

James Hardie Industries plc is a building materials company that manufactures and markets fiber cement and fiber gypsum products. Its products are used primarily in residential and commercial construction, including exterior siding, trim, soffits, backer board, and interior wall and flooring applications.

The company sells products under brands that include Hardie, HardiePlank, HardiePanel, and HardieBacker. Its fiber cement products are designed to provide durability and resistance to moisture, fire, pests, and weathering, serving builders, contractors, architects, and homeowners.

James Hardie traces its origins to Australia in the late 19th century and has since expanded into an international building products company.

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