James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 1,211,758 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 195% from the previous session’s volume of 410,431 shares.The stock last traded at $22.36 and had previously closed at $22.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on JHX shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America raised James Hardie Industries from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $27.40 to $27.35 in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Macquarie lowered James Hardie Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Truist Financial set a $45.00 price objective on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, James Hardie Industries has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.45.

James Hardie Industries Trading Down 1.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.18. The company has a market capitalization of $9.59 billion, a PE ratio of 22.10, a P/E/G ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 1.80. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $28.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.29.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JHX. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries in the first quarter valued at $440,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in James Hardie Industries by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,694 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 999 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 2,189.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 32,207 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $759,000 after acquiring an additional 30,800 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 672.7% during the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 8,500 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $200,000 after acquiring an additional 7,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 854.5% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 7,875 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 7,050 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

James Hardie Industries Company Profile

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.