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

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 46,900 shares, a decrease of 18.9% from the August 31st total of 57,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 85,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.5 days.

Institutional Trading of James Hardie Industries

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in James Hardie Industries during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 55.7% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,045 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 693.2% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,158 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 38.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,219 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in James Hardie Industries during the second quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

James Hardie Industries Price Performance

NYSE JHX opened at $38.54 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. James Hardie Industries has a 1 year low of $24.28 and a 1 year high of $43.57. The company has a market cap of $16.63 billion, a PE ratio of 33.22, a PEG ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 1.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $35.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.19.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last released 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. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 12.78% and a return on equity of 38.01%. The business had revenue of $991.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that James Hardie Industries will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th.

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.