James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Trading Up 6.3% – Here’s What Happened

James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) rose 6.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $26.08 and last traded at $25.8320. 1,691,966 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 7,017,830 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.29.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JHX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of James Hardie Industries from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of James Hardie Industries in a report on Thursday, June 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.00.

James Hardie Industries Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.40. The company has a market capitalization of $15.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 117.48 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 20th. The construction company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 2.15% and a return on equity of 11.13%. James Hardie Industries’s quarterly revenue was up 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that James Hardie Industries PLC. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings 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 worth $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 7,396 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 160.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,697,663 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $63,557,000 after purchasing 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 first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 279,009 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,573,000 after buying an additional 192,478 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake 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 worth $312,000 after buying an additional 3,827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 11,238.5% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,474 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,461 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

About James Hardie Industries

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.