James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Shares Gap Up to $30.54

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $30.54, but opened at $31.36. James Hardie Industries shares last traded at $31.08, with a volume of 4,802 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

James Hardie Industries Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $33.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.47. The firm has a market cap of $13.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in James Hardie Industries by 38.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,219 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in James Hardie Industries by 14.3% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,896 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in James Hardie Industries by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 15,302 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $592,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in James Hardie Industries by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 36,658 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,418,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC boosted its position in James Hardie Industries by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 35,483 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $931,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.