James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday . 893,026 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 99% from the previous session’s volume of 447,919 shares.The stock last traded at $22.06 and had previously closed at $22.48.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on JHX. Bank of America upgraded James Hardie Industries from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $27.40 to $27.35 in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Macquarie lowered shares of James Hardie Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. StockNews.com upgraded James Hardie Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley raised James Hardie Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $45.00 price objective on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research note on Monday, March 24th. 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.45.

James Hardie Industries Price Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.60, a P/E/G ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 1.80. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. The firm 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%. On average, research 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

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in James Hardie Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 972 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in James Hardie Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 64.7% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,260 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares during the last quarter. 7.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.