James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 25,901,156 shares, a growth of 70.5% from the September 15th total of 15,189,864 shares. Approximately 4.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 18,436,803 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days.

James Hardie Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:JHX traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $25.85. The company had a trading volume of 7,126,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,399,541. The firm has a market cap of $15.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.40, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.79. James Hardie Industries has a one year low of $16.46 and a one year high of $31.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $27.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.81.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The construction company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 2.69% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The company’s revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that James Hardie Industries will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JHX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised James Hardie Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Stephens lifted their target price on James Hardie Industries from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Raymond James Financial set a $36.00 price target on James Hardie Industries in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on James Hardie Industries in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.89.

Institutional Trading of James Hardie Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its position in James Hardie Industries by 153.8% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 739,441 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $19,359,000 after buying an additional 448,047 shares during the period. Fund 1 Investments LLC bought a new position in James Hardie Industries in the second quarter worth $1,047,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB purchased a new stake in James Hardie Industries in the second quarter worth about $5,459,000. RDST Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 24.0% in the second quarter. RDST Capital LLC now owns 4,015,067 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $105,114,000 after acquiring an additional 776,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capula Management Ltd purchased a new position in James Hardie Industries in the first quarter worth about $6,620,000. 7.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About James Hardie Industries

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.