Analysts Set Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) PT at $139.57

Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $138.7733.

CRH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup downgraded shares of CRH from a “buy” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Berenberg Bank set a $140.00 price objective on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on CRH from $149.00 to $165.60 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Truist Financial cut their target price on CRH from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd.

CRH Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of CRH stock opened at $87.94 on Friday. CRH has a 12 month low of $85.46 and a 12 month high of $131.55. The stock has a market cap of $58.50 billion, a PE ratio of 15.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.33. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $95.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.65.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The construction company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.19. CRH had a return on equity of 15.76% and a net margin of 9.93%.The business had revenue of $10.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CRH will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. CRH’s payout ratio is presently 27.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRH

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRH. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in CRH by 13.0% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 332,198 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,545,000 after acquiring an additional 38,141 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in CRH by 4.1% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,336,754 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $245,460,000 after purchasing an additional 93,106 shares during the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new stake in shares of CRH during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,229,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of CRH by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 223,644 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $23,507,000 after purchasing an additional 31,603 shares during the period. Finally, SummitTX Capital L.P. increased its position in shares of CRH by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 118,777 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $12,486,000 after purchasing an additional 14,191 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

About CRH

CRH plc is a global building materials company that supplies products and solutions used in residential, commercial and infrastructure construction. Its offerings include aggregates, cement, ready-mixed concrete, asphalt, architectural products, precast concrete and other construction-related materials and services.

The company serves customers across North America and Europe, with operations spanning construction materials, infrastructure products and building solutions. CRH supports projects such as roads, bridges, airports, utilities, commercial buildings and residential developments.

CRH was formed in 1970 through the merger of Cement Limited and Roadstone, two Irish building materials businesses.