CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $95.70.

CRH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of CRH from $109.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com downgraded CRH from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on CRH in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock.

Institutional Trading of CRH

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Greenhaven Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of CRH by 0.8% during the second quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 11,120,064 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $833,782,000 after acquiring an additional 91,267 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in CRH by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,618,144 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $646,188,000 after purchasing an additional 431,172 shares in the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of CRH by 3,384.4% in the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 6,781,697 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $469,022,000 after purchasing an additional 6,587,066 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CRH by 35,497.5% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,082,961 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $438,455,000 after purchasing an additional 5,068,682 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of CRH by 36,503.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,838,972 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $361,278,000 after buying an additional 4,825,752 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

CRH Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRH opened at $91.49 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.92. CRH has a 1 year low of $51.59 and a 1 year high of $93.07. The firm has a market cap of $62.82 billion, a PE ratio of 15.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.30.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The construction company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.85. The business had revenue of $9.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.16 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CRH will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 23rd. CRH’s payout ratio is 29.72%.

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.