KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Increases Holdings in Crh Plc $CRH

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its holdings in Crh Plc by 2.9% to 170,800 shares, valuing their investment at $15,679,000 at the end of the 2nd quarter.
• CRH recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.94 for the last quarter, which fell short of analysts' expectations by 12 cents, and reported revenue of $10.21 billion.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for CRH, with Royal Bank of Canada setting a new target of $152, suggesting a positive outlook for the stock.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its holdings in shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 170,800 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 4,800 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in CRH were worth $15,679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its position in shares of CRH by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 3,143,490 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $288,572,000 after buying an additional 364,319 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of CRH during the 1st quarter valued at about $744,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of CRH by 100.2% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 452,776 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $39,318,000 after buying an additional 226,602 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in CRH by 43.2% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in CRH by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,919 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CRH Price Performance

Shares of CRH stock opened at $117.86 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $79.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.32. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $111.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.84. Crh Plc has a one year low of $76.75 and a one year high of $121.88.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 company earned $1.88 earnings per share. CRH's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Crh Plc will post 5.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. CRH's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of CRH from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of CRH from $112.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of CRH to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of CRH in a report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CRH presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $125.07.

CRH 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.

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