James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Shares Gap Up to $33.80

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $33.80, but opened at $34.74. James Hardie Industries shares last traded at $34.23, with a volume of 3,841 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised James Hardie Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Macquarie upgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st.

James Hardie Industries Trading Up 5.5 %

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.79. The firm has a market cap of $15.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.71.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 13th. The construction company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $991.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 38.97% and a net margin of 12.96%. James Hardie Industries's revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that James Hardie Industries plc will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 38.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,219 shares of the construction company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 14.3% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,896 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in James Hardie Industries by 55.7% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,045 shares of the construction company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,630 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 15,302 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $592,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. 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.