James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $32.53, but opened at $31.81. James Hardie Industries shares last traded at $32.12, with a volume of 4,871 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on JHX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of James Hardie Industries in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised James Hardie Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.25.

James Hardie Industries Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $34.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market cap of $13.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.37, a PEG ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 1.77.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The construction company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 35.93%. The business had revenue of $960.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $973.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that James Hardie Industries plc will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of James Hardie Industries

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 55.7% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,630 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,029,000 after buying an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 155.9% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,475 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $141,000 after buying an additional 2,726 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 20,328 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $641,000 after buying an additional 2,241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 144.2% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 2,828 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 1,670 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.