First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Boosts Stock Holdings in James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,397 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,546 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in James Hardie Industries were worth $905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in James Hardie Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $4,532,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 754.0% during the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 116,574 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,055,000 after buying an additional 102,923 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 111.1% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 63,558 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,458,000 after acquiring an additional 33,457 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in James Hardie Industries by 72.2% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 43,820 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,683,000 after acquiring an additional 18,371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC acquired a new position in James Hardie Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $549,000. 7.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

James Hardie Industries Price Performance

Shares of JHX opened at $35.76 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $38.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.36. The stock has a market cap of $15.58 billion, a PE ratio of 29.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.72. James Hardie Industries plc has a 1-year low of $22.46 and a 1-year high of $41.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The construction company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $978.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $960.23 million. James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 38.75% and a net margin of 13.93%. The business’s revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that James Hardie Industries plc will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America cut shares of James Hardie Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $35.50 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. StockNews.com cut James Hardie Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th.

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.