Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $139.57 According to Brokerages

Shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $139.54.

CRH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of CRH in a report on Friday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $139.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of CRH from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of CRH from $147.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stephens lowered their price target on CRH from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup cut CRH from a “buy” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th.

CRH Stock Up 1.3%

CRH stock opened at $85.03 on Friday. CRH has a twelve month low of $83.48 and a twelve month high of $131.55. The firm has a market cap of $56.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.33. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $103.18.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last issued its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $10.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. CRH had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 15.76%. The business’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that CRH will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. CRH’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRH

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in CRH by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 332,198 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,545,000 after acquiring an additional 38,141 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CRH by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,336,754 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $245,460,000 after purchasing an additional 93,106 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new stake in shares of CRH in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,229,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of CRH by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 196,860 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $21,064,000 after purchasing an additional 14,091 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of CRH by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 223,644 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $23,507,000 after purchasing an additional 31,603 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

CRH Company Profile

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.