Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• CRH received a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 17 brokerages, with 13 buys, two strong buys, one hold and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $139.57.
• CRH shares opened at $86.11, down 0.7%, near their 12-month low of $85.46 and below both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.21 in EPS and $10.78 billion in revenue, while revenue increased 5.6% year over year. CRH also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.39, representing a 1.8% yield.

Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seventeen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $139.5733.

Several equities analysts recently commented on CRH shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of CRH from $132.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of CRH from $149.00 to $165.60 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on CRH from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on CRH in a report on Friday, September 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $139.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $140.00 price target on CRH in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th.

CRH Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:CRH opened at $86.11 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $57.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.33. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $96.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.11. CRH has a 12-month low of $85.46 and a 12-month high of $131.55.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The construction company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.19. CRH had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 15.76%. The company had revenue of $10.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that CRH will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in CRH by 67.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,709,575 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,827,252,000 after buying an additional 5,916,930 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in CRH in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,476,939,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of CRH by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,808,439 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,348,894,000 after purchasing an additional 262,175 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of CRH by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,155,899 shares of the construction company's stock worth $768,300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of CRH by 74.7% during the 1st 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 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.

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