Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on CRH (NYSE:CRH)

CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 22,193 call options on the company. This is an increase of 539% compared to the average daily volume of 3,474 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Vertical Research initiated coverage on CRH in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on CRH from $101.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on CRH from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. StockNews.com downgraded CRH from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $82.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of CRH in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.11.

CRH Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of CRH opened at $72.05 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.28. CRH has a twelve month low of $51.59 and a twelve month high of $88.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.30.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 10th. The construction company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.60 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that CRH will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

CRH Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Variable dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a positive change from CRH’s previous Variable dividend of $0.23. CRH’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.89%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in CRH in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,358,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in CRH by 2,426.7% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,826,501 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $195,481,000 after purchasing an additional 2,714,634 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. acquired a new stake in CRH during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,484,901,000. Asio Capital LLC increased its holdings in CRH by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 54,015 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,736,000 after purchasing an additional 23,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV purchased a new position in shares of CRH during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,614,000. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CRH Company Profile

CRH plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides building materials solutions in Ireland and internationally. It operates through four segments: Americas Materials Solutions, Americas Building Solutions, Europe Materials Solutions, and Europe Building Solutions. The company provides solutions for the construction and maintenance of public infrastructure and commercial and residential buildings; and produces and sells aggregates, cement, readymixed concrete, and asphalt, as well as provides paving and construction services.