James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $22.91 and last traded at $23.17, with a volume of 52977 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.56.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JHX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $27.40 to $27.35 in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised James Hardie Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James set a $55.00 price target on James Hardie Industries in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Macquarie downgraded James Hardie Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, James Hardie Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.45.

James Hardie Industries Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.18 billion, a PE ratio of 23.46, a PEG ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 1.84.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $953.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $967.63 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that James Hardie Industries plc will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in James Hardie Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 972 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the period. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries during the 3rd quarter worth $64,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries in the 3rd quarter worth $71,000. 7.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.