Atom Investors LP Invests $4.84 Million in James Hardie Industries PLC. $JHX

Atom Investors LP bought a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 233,159 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,838,000. Atom Investors LP owned 0.05% of James Hardie Industries at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $5,253,000. Senator Investment Group LP grew its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 99.8% during the 4th quarter. Senator Investment Group LP now owns 1,825,797 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $37,885,000 after buying an additional 911,860 shares during the period. Mariner LLC grew its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 25,705 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 5,040 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP grew its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 90,326 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,874,000 after buying an additional 4,658 shares during the period. Finally, ArchPoint Investors acquired a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $2,116,000. 7.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

James Hardie Industries Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE:JHX opened at $25.62 on Wednesday. James Hardie Industries PLC. has a fifty-two week low of $16.46 and a fifty-two week high of $29.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.87 billion, a PE ratio of 116.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.51 and a beta of 1.80. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.69.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 20th. The construction company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.01. James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 11.13% and a net margin of 2.15%.The business had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.36 EPS. James Hardie Industries’s revenue for the quarter was up 44.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that James Hardie Industries PLC. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on JHX. Barclays decreased their target price on James Hardie Industries from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Zacks Research lowered James Hardie Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.00.

About James Hardie Industries

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE: JHX) is a global manufacturer of high-performance fiber cement building products. The company specializes in exterior cladding, trim and soffit, as well as interior backerboard solutions designed for residential and commercial construction. By combining cement, sand and cellulose fibers, James Hardie produces durable, low-maintenance materials that resist moisture, fire and termite damage, catering to builders, contractors and homeowners through a network of distributors and retail channels.

The company’s flagship products include Hardie® Plank® and Hardie® Panel® siding systems, Hardie® BackerBoard® for tile applications, and a range of architectural trim solutions.