Short Interest in James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) Declines By 18.9%

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 46,900 shares, a decrease of 18.9% from the August 31st total of 57,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 85,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised James Hardie Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th.

James Hardie Industries Stock Performance

Shares of JHX stock traded up $0.92 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $39.46. The stock had a trading volume of 661,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 71,929. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.12 billion, a PE ratio of 34.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 1.74. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.15. James Hardie Industries has a twelve month low of $24.28 and a twelve month high of $43.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The construction company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $991.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 12.78% and a return on equity of 38.01%. James Hardie Industries’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that James Hardie Industries will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of James Hardie Industries

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries during the second quarter valued at $66,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries during the 2nd quarter worth about $12,162,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 6,682 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 559 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 3.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 46,731 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 0.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 70,496 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,223,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares in 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.