James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Shares of James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $32.07, but opened at $30.96. James Hardie Industries shares last traded at $31.01, with a volume of 6,958 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

James Hardie Industries Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $13.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.95, a PEG ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 1.84. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $953.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $967.63 million. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 11.15% and a return on equity of 33.65%. Sell-side analysts forecast that James Hardie Industries plc will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in James Hardie Industries by 76.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 374,164 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $11,528,000 after purchasing an additional 161,899 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 964,583 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,718,000 after buying an additional 161,059 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 317.2% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 172,460 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,924,000 after buying an additional 131,120 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in James Hardie Industries by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 453,206 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $13,963,000 after buying an additional 73,504 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 184.4% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 86,531 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,666,000 after acquiring an additional 56,104 shares during 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.