Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $135.8667.

CRH has been the subject of several research reports. Longbow Research started coverage on shares of CRH in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of CRH from $110.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of CRH to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of CRH from $138.00 to $133.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on CRH from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th.

CRH Stock Performance

Shares of CRH stock opened at $127.16 on Friday. CRH has a fifty-two week low of $76.75 and a fifty-two week high of $131.55. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.55. The company has a market cap of $85.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.33, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.33.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The construction company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.27. CRH had a net margin of 9.30% and a return on equity of 16.25%. The firm had revenue of $11.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that CRH will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRH

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of CRH by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 794 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. L2 Asset Management LLC increased its position in CRH by 3.0% in the second quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 3,028 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc raised its stake in shares of CRH by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of CRH by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 356 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of CRH by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 4,126 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. 62.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.