CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) Short Interest Update

CRH plc (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,510,000 shares, a decrease of 19.1% from the April 30th total of 14,220,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 7,540,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CRH in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in CRH in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of CRH in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of CRH by 214.3% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 352 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC acquired a new stake in shares of CRH during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 62.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CRH shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 price target on shares of CRH in a report on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on CRH in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $114.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CRH presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $112.58.

CRH Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE CRH traded down $0.26 on Wednesday, reaching $90.86. The company had a trading volume of 2,878,241 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,305,567. CRH has a 52 week low of $71.18 and a 52 week high of $110.97. The stock's 50 day moving average is $90.86 and its 200-day moving average is $95.92. The stock has a market cap of $61.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.33.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The construction company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $6.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. CRH had a return on equity of 16.35% and a net margin of 9.86%. As a group, analysts forecast that CRH will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. CRH's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.52%.

CRH Company Profile

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.