CRH (NYSE:CRH) Coverage Initiated at Bank of America

Key Points

• Bank of America has reaffirmed its "Buy" rating for CRH, setting a target price of $128.00, which suggests a potential upside of 14.52% from the stock's previous close.
• CRH has received positive ratings from multiple analysts, with three rating it as a Strong Buy and a consensus price target of $117.00.
• The company reported $1.94 earnings per share last quarter, falling short of the consensus estimate of $2.06, despite a 5.7% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.

Research analysts at Bank of America started coverage on shares of CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) in a research report issued on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set a "buy" rating and a $128.00 price target on the construction company's stock. Bank of America's price target would indicate a potential upside of 14.52% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on CRH. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of CRH from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of CRH to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Vertical Research raised shares of CRH to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 price objective (down previously from $120.00) on shares of CRH in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CRH presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $117.00.

CRH Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRH opened at $111.77 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $107.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.52. The stock has a market cap of $75.18 billion, a PE ratio of 23.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.31. CRH has a one year low of $76.75 and a one year high of $116.36.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The construction company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $10.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.27 billion. CRH had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.09%.The business's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CRH will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of CRH

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in CRH by 62.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,755,468 shares of the construction company's stock worth $5,608,567,000 after buying an additional 24,591,538 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CRH during the 2nd quarter worth $1,007,932,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in CRH during the 1st quarter worth $597,888,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in CRH by 43.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 3,108,416 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in CRH by 58,695.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,830,994 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $249,043,000 after purchasing an additional 2,826,179 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.50% of the company's stock.

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.