James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Shares Gap Down - What's Next?

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $32.07, but opened at $30.96. James Hardie Industries shares last traded at $31.01, with a volume of 6,958 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on James Hardie Industries in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $45.00.

James Hardie Industries Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $12.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.00, a PEG ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 1.84. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $32.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $953.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $967.63 million. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 11.15% and a return on equity of 33.65%. Sell-side analysts forecast that James Hardie Industries plc will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of JHX. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in James Hardie Industries by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 972 shares of the construction company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 4.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,551 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 52,416 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 18,074 shares of the construction company's stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,220 shares of the construction company's stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.96% of the company's stock.

About James Hardie Industries

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.