James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) shares gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $24.29, but opened at $23.50. James Hardie Industries shares last traded at $23.85, with a volume of 249,142 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JHX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James set a $55.00 target price on shares of James Hardie Industries in a report on Monday, March 24th. Macquarie downgraded shares of James Hardie Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of James Hardie Industries in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised James Hardie Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded James Hardie Industries from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $27.40 to $27.35 in a report on Thursday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.45.

James Hardie Industries Trading Down 3.3 %

The stock has a market cap of $10.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.30, a P/E/G ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $26.78 and its 200 day moving average is $31.23.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 33.65% and a net margin of 11.15%. The firm had revenue of $953.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $967.63 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that James Hardie Industries plc will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in James Hardie Industries by 473.5% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 72,316 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,704,000 after purchasing an additional 59,706 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC lifted its position in shares of James Hardie Industries by 17.0% during the first quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 10,529 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries during the first quarter valued at $1,994,000. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in James Hardie Industries in the 1st quarter worth about $440,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,694 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 999 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

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.