Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $5.65 Million Position in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 70.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 61,078 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,278 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in CRH were worth $5,654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRH. Norges Bank bought a new position in CRH during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,391,245,000. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of CRH by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,843,362 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,781,004,000 after purchasing an additional 4,687,345 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of CRH by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,788,918 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,553,194,000 after purchasing an additional 2,437,868 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of CRH by 72.2% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,717,597 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $436,472,000 after purchasing an additional 1,978,225 shares during the period. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of CRH by 931.3% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,977,992 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $183,004,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786,189 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.50% of the company's stock.

CRH Price Performance

CRH stock traded down $0.97 on Friday, reaching $90.99. 8,756,692 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,826,161. CRH plc has a 12 month low of $71.18 and a 12 month high of $110.97. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $90.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.33.

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

CRH Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on CRH. Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 price target on shares of CRH in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of CRH from $127.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of CRH in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of CRH from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $112.58.

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.