Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) Given Average Rating of "Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• CRH Plc has received an average rating of "Buy" from thirteen analysts, with two analysts advising a hold, nine a buy, and two a strong buy.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings miss with an EPS of $1.94, falling short of analysts' expectations of $2.06, but revenue increased by 5.7% year-over-year.
• CRH announced a quarterly dividend of $0.37, set to be paid on September 24th, with a yield of 1.3% and a payout ratio of 23.22%.

Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Buy" from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $113.1818.

CRH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a report on Friday, August 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Vertical Research raised shares of CRH to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down previously from $120.00) on shares of CRH in a report on Thursday, July 10th.

Institutional Trading of CRH

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in CRH by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,405,066 shares of the construction company's stock worth $5,912,385,000 after buying an additional 649,598 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in CRH by 24.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 12,803,346 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,175,347,000 after buying an additional 2,499,558 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CRH in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,007,932,000. Boston Partners boosted its stake in CRH by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,654,828 shares of the construction company's stock worth $888,810,000 after buying an additional 832,027 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in CRH by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 9,185,200 shares of the construction company's stock worth $843,201,000 after buying an additional 354,711 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.50% of the company's stock.

CRH Stock Performance

NYSE:CRH opened at $110.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $74.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.26. CRH has a fifty-two week low of $76.75 and a fifty-two week high of $113.95. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.38.

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

CRH Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. CRH's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.22%.

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.

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