James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) Stock Short Interest Rises 47.8%

James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 15,189,864 shares, a growth of 47.8% from the August 31st total of 10,276,477 shares. Approximately 2.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,630,189 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on JHX shares. Citigroup cut shares of James Hardie Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird set a $34.00 price objective on James Hardie Industries in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Barclays upgraded James Hardie Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $26.00 to $35.00 in a report on Monday, August 10th. Loop Capital began coverage on James Hardie Industries in a report on Monday, September 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on James Hardie Industries from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, James Hardie Industries has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in James Hardie Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. MidFirst Bank bought a new stake in James Hardie Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in James Hardie Industries by 46.5% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,532 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in James Hardie Industries by 14.7% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,890 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 884 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

James Hardie Industries Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:JHX traded up $0.23 on Friday, hitting $25.43. The stock had a trading volume of 2,228,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,769,697. James Hardie Industries has a 1 year low of $16.46 and a 1 year high of $31.43. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.59. The stock has a market cap of $14.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.79.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The construction company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 2.69%.The company’s revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. Analysts predict that James Hardie Industries will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

James Hardie Industries Company Profile

James Hardie Industries plc is a building materials company that manufactures and markets fiber cement and fiber gypsum products. Its products are used primarily in residential and commercial construction, including exterior siding, trim, soffits, backer board, and interior wall and flooring applications.

The company sells products under brands that include Hardie, HardiePlank, HardiePanel, and HardieBacker. Its fiber cement products are designed to provide durability and resistance to moisture, fire, pests, and weathering, serving builders, contractors, architects, and homeowners.

James Hardie traces its origins to Australia in the late 19th century and has since expanded into an international building products company.