Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) has earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $140.5733.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CRH shares. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of CRH from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Monday, August 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $137.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of CRH in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of CRH from $135.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of CRH from $149.00 to $165.60 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRH

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in CRH in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CRH by 1,835.3% during the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 329 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Bell Investment Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of CRH by 51.2% during the 1st quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 304 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CRH during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of CRH during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

CRH Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRH opened at $91.07 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $100.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.33. CRH has a 1 year low of $91.01 and a 1 year high of $131.55.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The construction company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $10.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. CRH had a return on equity of 15.76% and a net margin of 9.93%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that CRH will post 5.8 earnings per share for the current year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. CRH’s dividend payout ratio is 27.51%.

CRH Company Profile

CRH plc, originally formed as Cement Roadstone Holdings in 1970 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is a global building materials group. The company has grown from its Irish roots into one of the largest international suppliers of construction materials, expanding primarily through acquisitions and regional business development. CRH operates an integrated network of manufacturing and distribution businesses that serve both public and private construction markets.

CRH’s core activities include the production and distribution of aggregates, cement, asphalt, ready-mixed concrete and other bulk materials, together with a broad range of value-added building products such as precast concrete, masonry, bricks, roofing products, pipe and drainage systems, and construction accessories.