James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Shares of James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 237,074 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 136% from the previous session’s volume of 100,591 shares.The stock last traded at $33.93 and had previously closed at $32.87.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on JHX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of James Hardie Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Truist Financial began coverage on James Hardie Industries in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut James Hardie Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.25.

James Hardie Industries Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $33.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.55. The firm has a market cap of $14.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.50.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The construction company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $960.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that James Hardie Industries plc will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 2.6% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,494 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $502,000 after buying an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in James Hardie Industries by 4.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,551 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in James Hardie Industries by 1.2% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,630 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 46.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,365 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 70,496 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,223,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

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.