SG Americas Securities LLC Trims Stake in James Hardie Industries PLC. $JHX

SG Americas Securities LLC lessened its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX) by 74.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 159,104 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 471,002 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in James Hardie Industries were worth $3,013,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 259.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 50,649,731 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $972,981,000 after acquiring an additional 36,567,726 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries during the third quarter worth about $86,121,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $77,530,000. RDST Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,893,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,641,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on JHX shares. Zacks Research cut shares of James Hardie Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays reduced their price target on James Hardie Industries from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Stephens started coverage on James Hardie Industries in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, James Hardie Industries has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.56.

James Hardie Industries Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of JHX stock opened at $26.15 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.03. James Hardie Industries PLC. has a 1-year low of $16.46 and a 1-year high of $29.83. The firm has a market cap of $15.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 118.86 and a beta of 1.80.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The construction company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.01. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 2.15% and a return on equity of 11.13%. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.36 earnings per share. James Hardie Industries’s revenue was up 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that James Hardie Industries PLC. will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

James Hardie Industries Company Profile

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.