CRH (NYSE:CRH) Price Target Cut to $129.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

CRH (NYSE:CRH) had its price objective decreased by Morgan Stanley from $139.00 to $129.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the construction company’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of CRH from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $118.00 price target on CRH in a research report on Friday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on CRH in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of CRH in a research report on Monday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on CRH from $157.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CRH has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.61.

CRH Price Performance

Shares of CRH stock opened at $98.95 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $87.22 and a 200 day moving average of $103.82. The firm has a market cap of $65.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.33. CRH has a 1 year low of $78.62 and a 1 year high of $131.55.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The construction company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. CRH had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 15.03%. The company had revenue of $11.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.21 EPS. CRH’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CRH will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. CRH’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.27%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in CRH by 7.7% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 196,860 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $21,064,000 after acquiring an additional 14,091 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in CRH by 13.0% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 332,198 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,545,000 after purchasing an additional 38,141 shares during the last quarter. Davis Rea LTD. boosted its position in CRH by 1,292.9% in the third quarter. Davis Rea LTD. now owns 70,135 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,807,000 after purchasing an additional 65,100 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CRH by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,336,754 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $245,460,000 after purchasing an additional 93,106 shares during the period. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new stake in shares of CRH during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,229,000. 62.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About CRH

CRH plc is a global building materials company that supplies products and solutions used in residential, commercial and infrastructure construction. Its activities include the production and distribution of aggregates, asphalt, ready-mixed concrete, cement and other construction materials, as well as value-added products such as precast concrete, architectural products and site-development solutions.

The company serves customers across North America and Europe, including contractors, construction companies, infrastructure developers, distributors and public-sector organizations.