James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Shares of James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday . 408,989 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 85% from the previous session’s volume of 221,279 shares.The stock last traded at $23.61 and had previously closed at $24.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JHX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Macquarie downgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America raised James Hardie Industries from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $27.40 to $27.35 in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upgraded James Hardie Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. 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 objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.45.

James Hardie Industries Stock Down 2.8 %

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 firm has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 1.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $31.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.57.

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

Institutional Trading of James Hardie Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JHX. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new position in James Hardie Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in James Hardie Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in James Hardie Industries by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 972 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in James Hardie Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries during the third quarter worth approximately $64,000. Hedge funds and other 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.