James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $24.73, but opened at $23.26. James Hardie Industries shares last traded at $23.71, with a volume of 440,246 shares changing hands.

The construction company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $971.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $983.86 million. James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 33.65% and a net margin of 11.15%. James Hardie Industries’s revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.61 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James set a $55.00 target price on shares of James Hardie Industries in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Macquarie downgraded James Hardie Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of James Hardie Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of James Hardie Industries from $45.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised James Hardie Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, James Hardie Industries has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.12.

Institutional Trading of James Hardie Industries

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in James Hardie Industries by 156.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,327 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 7,526 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position 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 worth $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 35.4% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 12,743 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 3,334 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,323 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,081 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in James Hardie Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

James Hardie Industries Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $10.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.52, a PEG ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 1.80. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $23.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

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.