Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 17,175,419 shares, a growth of 53.1% from the November 30th total of 11,221,350 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,625,412 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,625,412 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group started coverage on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of CRH from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Longbow Research initiated coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of CRH from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on CRH from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CRH has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.60.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRH

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. bought a new position in CRH during the second quarter valued at approximately $246,000. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of CRH by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 3,143,490 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $288,572,000 after acquiring an additional 364,319 shares during the last quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CRH during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,148,000. StoneX Group Inc. purchased a new position in CRH in the 2nd quarter worth $1,472,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in CRH by 3.3% during the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,173,172 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $107,697,000 after buying an additional 37,949 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

CRH Price Performance

Shares of CRH traded down $1.62 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $127.32. 1,066,551 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,761,221. CRH has a fifty-two week low of $76.75 and a fifty-two week high of $129.28. The business has a 50-day moving average of $119.17 and a 200-day moving average of $110.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.34.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The construction company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.27. CRH had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 9.30%.The firm had revenue of $11.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.15 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.97 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. CRH has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.490-5.720 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that CRH will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 21st. CRH’s payout ratio is presently 22.11%.

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.