CRH (NYSE:CRH) Stock Gets Price Target Increase from Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo raised its CRH price target from $100 to $107 and maintained an “overweight” rating, implying 12.3% upside from the stock’s then-current price.
• Analyst sentiment was broadly positive: 19 analysts rated CRH a Buy and one a Hold, with a consensus price target of $125.97.
• CRH beat quarterly EPS estimates ($2.09 versus $2.06) but reported revenue below expectations; revenue still grew 3% year over year. A director also bought 2,000 shares.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $100.00 to $107.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the construction company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price points to a potential upside of 12.30% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on CRH. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of CRH in a report on Monday. Barclays cut their target price on shares of CRH from $131.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $118.00 target price on shares of CRH in a report on Friday, October 9th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of CRH from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $140.00 price target on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CRH currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $125.97.

CRH Price Performance

CRH stock traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $95.28. 653,724 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,002,216. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.39 billion, a PE ratio of 17.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.33. CRH has a 12-month low of $78.62 and a 12-month high of $131.55. The business's 50-day moving average is $87.18 and its 200-day moving average is $103.68.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The construction company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $11.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.56 billion. CRH had a return on equity of 15.03% and a net margin of 9.19%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.21 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that CRH will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at CRH

In other CRH news, Director Siobhan Talbot purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $94.63 per share, with a total value of $189,260.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 10,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $994,277.41. This trade represents a 23.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRH

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRH. Amundi grew its stake in shares of CRH by 74.7% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 5,965,814 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $627,126,000 after buying an additional 2,550,178 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of CRH by 3.8% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,928,489 shares of the construction company's stock worth $623,203,000 after buying an additional 216,822 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of CRH by 6.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,831,618 shares of the construction company's stock worth $507,784,000 after buying an additional 297,309 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CRH by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,336,754 shares of the construction company's stock worth $245,460,000 after acquiring an additional 93,106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of CRH by 27.9% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,186,541 shares of the construction company's stock worth $228,994,000 after acquiring an additional 477,242 shares during the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About CRH

CRH plc is a global building materials company that supplies products and solutions used in residential, commercial and infrastructure construction. Its activities include the production and distribution of aggregates, asphalt, ready-mixed concrete, cement and other construction materials, as well as value-added products such as precast concrete, architectural products and site-development solutions.

The company serves customers across North America and Europe, including contractors, construction companies, infrastructure developers, distributors and public-sector organizations.

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