James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Shares Gap Down to $32.95

Shares of James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $32.95, but opened at $31.63. James Hardie Industries shares last traded at $31.87, with a volume of 8,978 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded James Hardie Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Macquarie upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.50.

James Hardie Industries Trading Up 0.3 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $33.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.84 billion, a PE ratio of 27.50, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.69.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The construction company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter. James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 38.97% and a net margin of 12.96%. The business had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts expect that James Hardie Industries plc will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JHX. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,002,215 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $38,756,000 after buying an additional 11,235 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in James Hardie Industries by 186.0% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 335,239 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $13,564,000 after purchasing an additional 218,033 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in James Hardie Industries by 39.7% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 313,931 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $12,697,000 after purchasing an additional 89,165 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in James Hardie Industries by 3.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 119,208 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,128,000 after purchasing an additional 3,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in James Hardie Industries by 111.1% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 63,558 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,458,000 after purchasing an additional 33,457 shares during the last quarter. 7.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.