Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for CRH (NYSE:CRH) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley cut its CRH price target from $139 to $129 but maintained an Overweight rating; the new target implies about 31% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: 19 analysts rate the stock Buy and one rates it Hold, for a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $125.61 average target.
• CRH reported quarterly EPS of $2.09, slightly above estimates, while revenue of $11.40 billion fell short of forecasts; revenue increased 3% year over year.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $139.00 to $129.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the construction company's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price points to a potential upside of 30.98% from the company's previous close.

CRH has been the topic of a number of other reports. DA Davidson lowered their target price on CRH from $117.00 to $114.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on CRH in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $115.00 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. Citigroup increased their target price on CRH from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on CRH from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $125.61.

CRH Stock Performance

Shares of CRH traded up $4.96 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $98.48. 2,953,749 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,992,451. The business's 50-day moving average price is $87.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.33. CRH has a 12 month low of $78.62 and a 12 month high of $131.55.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The construction company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $11.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.56 billion. CRH had a return on equity of 15.03% and a net margin of 9.19%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.21 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that CRH will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Acorn Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of CRH by 4.3% in the second quarter. Acorn Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,658 shares of the construction company's stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Cloverfields Capital Group LP raised its position in shares of CRH by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Cloverfields Capital Group LP now owns 37,937 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,988,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of CRH by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,312 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CRH by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,260 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank lifted its stake in shares of CRH by 36.5% during the 2nd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 550 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. 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 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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