Brandes Investment Partners LP Reduces Stock Holdings in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Brandes Investment Partners LP cut its holdings in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 121,345 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 4,549 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in CRH were worth $9,067,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CRH by 336.4% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 336 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in CRH in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in CRH by 71.5% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 415 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CRH during the 2nd quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CRH during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. 62.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CRH Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of CRH stock opened at $92.72 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $63.67 billion, a PE ratio of 15.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.17. CRH plc has a 52 week low of $51.59 and a 52 week high of $94.14.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The construction company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85. The company had revenue of $9.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.16 billion. Equities research analysts expect that CRH plc will post 5.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRH Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. CRH’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of CRH from $109.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com downgraded CRH from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Truist Financial increased their target price on CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded CRH from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $87.00 to $88.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CRH has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.70.

About CRH

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.