Short Interest in James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) Expands By 34.9%

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 34.9% in March to 19,326,133 shares (about 4.5% of shares), yielding a days-to-cover ratio of 2.5.
• Consensus analyst sentiment is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $26.13 (ten Buys vs. four Holds), amid mixed recent moves — Truist and JPMorgan upgraded while Barclays lowered its target to $22.
• Large institutional activity included Wellington Management raising its stake by 259.7% to 50.65M shares, and the stock traded up ~7.3% to $21.54 midday, valuing the company at about $9.26 billion with a P/E near 80.

James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 19,326,133 shares, a growth of 34.9% from the March 15th total of 14,325,330 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,802,512 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 4.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JHX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of James Hardie Industries from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays reduced their price objective on James Hardie Industries from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $26.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 259.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 50,649,731 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $972,981,000 after purchasing an additional 36,567,726 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,600,870 shares of the construction company's stock worth $261,273,000 after buying an additional 882,795 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,690,174 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $201,071,000 after acquiring an additional 1,758,111 shares in the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries in the third quarter worth $105,839,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 5,166,115 shares of the construction company's stock worth $107,197,000 after acquiring an additional 634,354 shares in the last quarter. 7.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

James Hardie Industries Stock Up 7.3%

Shares of JHX traded up $1.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $21.54. The company had a trading volume of 4,624,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,649,186. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $21.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.84. James Hardie Industries has a 1 year low of $16.46 and a 1 year high of $29.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.54.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The construction company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that James Hardie Industries will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

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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