James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Shares of James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $37.04, but opened at $36.25. James Hardie Industries shares last traded at $36.38, with a volume of 329,484 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised James Hardie Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th.

James Hardie Industries Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $36.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.94. The company has a market cap of $16.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 1.74.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The construction company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $991.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 12.78% and a return on equity of 38.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.39 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that James Hardie Industries plc will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in James Hardie Industries by 38.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 55.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 1.2% during the second 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 0.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 70,496 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,223,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 9.1% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 6,682 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. 7.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.