Short Interest in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) Drops By 19.2%

Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 13,251,626 shares, a decrease of 19.2% from the January 29th total of 16,395,155 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,422,062 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Currently, 2.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Currently, 2.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 4,422,062 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of CRH from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. BNP Paribas Exane raised CRH to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CRH in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Longbow Research started coverage on CRH in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of CRH from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CRH has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.86.

Institutional Trading of CRH

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Alpine Global Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CRH by 1,490.4% during the 4th quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC now owns 35,688 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,454,000 after purchasing an additional 33,444 shares during the period. Banque Transatlantique SA lifted its stake in shares of CRH by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 318,068 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $39,610,000 after purchasing an additional 5,632 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CRH in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,671,000. Kera Capital Partners Inc. grew its position in CRH by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 2,292 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in CRH during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $275,000. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CRH Stock Performance

Shares of CRH traded down $4.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $113.49. The company had a trading volume of 8,349,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,004,277. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $124.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.25. CRH has a 52-week low of $76.75 and a 52-week high of $131.55.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by ($0.68). The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.15 billion. CRH had a net margin of 10.02% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.02 earnings per share. CRH has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.600-6.050 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that CRH will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This is a positive change from CRH’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. CRH’s payout ratio is presently 28.26%.

About CRH

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.