CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) has received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $112.36.

Several research firms recently commented on CRH. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on CRH from $127.00 to $108.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of CRH in a research note on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 target price on shares of CRH in a report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded CRH from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th.

CRH Stock Down 2.3 %

CRH stock opened at $91.75 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $91.58 and a 200 day moving average of $96.10. The firm has a market cap of $62.05 billion, a PE ratio of 18.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.33. CRH has a twelve month low of $71.18 and a twelve month high of $110.97.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The construction company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $6.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. CRH had a net margin of 9.86% and a return on equity of 16.35%. On average, research analysts expect that CRH will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. CRH’s payout ratio is 22.66%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in CRH by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,843,362 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,781,004,000 after purchasing an additional 4,687,345 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of CRH by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,163,930 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,624,719,000 after purchasing an additional 145,101 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CRH by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,788,918 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,553,194,000 after buying an additional 2,437,868 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in CRH in the 4th quarter worth $1,391,245,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in CRH by 43.2% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,303,788 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $906,424,000 after acquiring an additional 3,108,416 shares during the period. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About CRH

CRH plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides building materials solutions in Ireland and internationally. It operates through four segments: Americas Materials Solutions, Americas Building Solutions, Europe Materials Solutions, and Europe Building Solutions. The company provides solutions for the construction and maintenance of public infrastructure and commercial and residential buildings; and produces and sells aggregates, cement, readymixed concrete, and asphalt, as well as provides paving and construction services.