James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 57,800 shares, a decrease of 15.2% from the August 15th total of 68,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 67,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.9 days.

James Hardie Industries Trading Up 0.9 %

James Hardie Industries stock traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $36.40. The company had a trading volume of 19,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 61,545. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.94. The firm has a market cap of $15.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $34.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.26. James Hardie Industries has a 1 year low of $24.28 and a 1 year high of $41.98.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JHX. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 186.0% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 335,239 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $13,564,000 after purchasing an additional 218,033 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in James Hardie Industries during the 1st quarter valued at $71,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in James Hardie Industries by 55.7% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,045 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 39.7% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 313,931 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $12,697,000 after acquiring an additional 89,165 shares during the period. Finally, Syon Capital LLC raised its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 40.2% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 10,993 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $425,000 after acquiring an additional 3,154 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JHX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded James Hardie Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Macquarie upgraded James Hardie Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered James Hardie Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st.

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.