James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $16.69, but opened at $18.30. James Hardie Industries shares last traded at $17.7870, with a volume of 1,438,296 shares traded.

The construction company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.01. James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 27.95% and a net margin of 8.75%.The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.36 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 34.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on JHX. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on James Hardie Industries from $32.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Macquarie upgraded James Hardie Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on James Hardie Industries in a research note on Friday, August 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $34.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.91.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JHX. Morningstar Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,802,000. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new position in James Hardie Industries during the 3rd quarter worth $5,283,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 100.9% during the 3rd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 4,531,761 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $87,055,000 after buying an additional 2,275,762 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,483,000. Finally, Susquehanna Advisors Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries in the third quarter valued at about $965,000. 7.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

James Hardie Industries Trading Up 7.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 3.31, a current ratio of 3.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $7.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.29, a PEG ratio of 14.34 and a beta of 1.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $19.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.36.

James Hardie Industries Company Profile

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.