James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,800 shares, a drop of 94.2% from the December 31st total of 170,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 90,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.1 days.

James Hardie Industries Price Performance

JHX stock opened at $33.36 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $33.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.70. The firm has a market cap of $14.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.03, a P/E/G ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. James Hardie Industries has a 12 month low of $29.88 and a 12 month high of $43.57.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The construction company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $960.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $973.49 million. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 35.93%. The company’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that James Hardie Industries will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut James Hardie Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 25th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded James Hardie Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

Institutional Trading of James Hardie Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries during the second quarter worth about $12,162,000. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 317.2% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 172,460 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,924,000 after acquiring an additional 131,120 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new position in James Hardie Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,369,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 22.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 160,273 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,435,000 after acquiring an additional 29,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 83.9% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 51,996 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,088,000 after purchasing an additional 23,723 shares during the period. 7.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.