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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

James Hardie Industries Stock Performance

Shares of JHX stock opened at $33.36 on Wednesday. James Hardie Industries has a 1-year low of $29.88 and a 1-year high of $43.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $14.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.03, a P/E/G ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 1.80. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.70.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last announced its 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 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that James Hardie Industries will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 0.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 70,496 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,223,000 after buying an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at $66,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries in the 2nd quarter worth $12,162,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 46.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,365 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 55.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,751 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 983 shares during the last quarter. 7.96% of the stock is 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.