Rock Creek Group LP Sells 2,500 Shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH)

Key Points

• Rock Creek Group LP has reduced its stake in CRH Plc by 10%, selling 2,500 shares, which now represents 0.2% of its portfolio.
• CRH reported earnings of $1.94 per share, missing analysts' expectations of $2.06, despite a year-over-year revenue increase of 5.7% to $10.21 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.37, with a yield of 1.4%, set to be paid on September 24th to shareholders of record as of August 22nd.

Rock Creek Group LP lowered its holdings in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 10.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,500 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 2,500 shares during the period. CRH makes up 0.2% of Rock Creek Group LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Rock Creek Group LP's holdings in CRH were worth $1,979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CRH during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of CRH during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of CRH during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Colonial Trust Co SC purchased a new position in shares of CRH during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CRH by 86.7% during the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 448 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $112.00 price objective (up from $108.00) on shares of CRH in a report on Friday, August 8th. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 price objective (down from $120.00) on shares of CRH in a report on Thursday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on CRH in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Vertical Research raised CRH to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CRH presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $113.18.

CRH Stock Performance

CRH traded down $1.78 on Thursday, hitting $111.87. 2,892,051 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,741,121. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.29. Crh Plc has a 12 month low of $76.75 and a 12 month high of $113.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.58 billion, a PE ratio of 23.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The construction company reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. CRH's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Crh Plc will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current year.

CRH Announces Dividend

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

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.