James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) saw a significant decrease in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 37,300 shares, a decrease of 25.1% from the February 13th total of 49,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 91,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.4 days. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Huntington National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries during the third quarter worth $55,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its position in James Hardie Industries by 1,904.6% during the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 9,943 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 9,447 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in James Hardie Industries by 317.2% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 172,460 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,924,000 after acquiring an additional 131,120 shares during the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in James Hardie Industries during the 3rd quarter worth about $220,000. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 41,798 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,678,000 after acquiring an additional 2,060 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

James Hardie Industries Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of JHX opened at $32.01 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $32.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.23. James Hardie Industries has a 12 month low of $29.88 and a 12 month high of $43.57. The company has a market capitalization of $13.76 billion, a PE ratio of 31.69, a PEG ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 33.65% and a net margin of 11.15%. The company had revenue of $953.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $967.63 million. On average, analysts anticipate that James Hardie Industries will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JHX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial started coverage on James Hardie Industries in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered James Hardie Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.00.

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.