State of Alaska Department of Revenue Acquires New Stake in Crh Plc $CRH

Key Points

• State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake of 66,670 CRH shares (about $8.32M) in Q4, and institutional investors now own roughly 62.5% of the company.
• CRH missed quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $1.52 versus $2.20 expected and revenue of $9.42B versus $11.15B expected, though revenue rose 6.2% year‑over‑year.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a $139.69 average target after several upward revisions, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.39 (annualized yield ~1.3%).

State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 66,670 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $8,320,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in CRH by 24.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,269,271 shares of the construction company's stock worth $272,086,000 after purchasing an additional 448,860 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in CRH during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,491,000. Exane Asset Management increased its holdings in CRH by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. Exane Asset Management now owns 663,774 shares of the construction company's stock worth $80,735,000 after purchasing an additional 116,178 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its holdings in CRH by 36.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 56,390 shares of the construction company's stock worth $6,761,000 after purchasing an additional 14,985 shares during the period. Finally, Dynasty Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in CRH by 77.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,077 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,086,000 after purchasing an additional 14,877 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on CRH from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. DA Davidson set a $120.00 price target on CRH in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of CRH in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on CRH from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on CRH from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $139.69.

CRH Stock Performance

NYSE:CRH opened at $117.31 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.97. The stock has a market cap of $78.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.35. Crh Plc has a 1 year low of $81.60 and a 1 year high of $131.55.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The construction company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by ($0.68). The firm had revenue of $9.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.15 billion. CRH had a net margin of 10.02% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.02 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Crh Plc will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

CRH Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were given a $0.39 dividend. This is a boost from CRH's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. CRH's payout ratio is currently 28.26%.

About CRH

CRH plc, originally formed as Cement Roadstone Holdings in 1970 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is a global building materials group. The company has grown from its Irish roots into one of the largest international suppliers of construction materials, expanding primarily through acquisitions and regional business development. CRH operates an integrated network of manufacturing and distribution businesses that serve both public and private construction markets.

CRH's core activities include the production and distribution of aggregates, cement, asphalt, ready-mixed concrete and other bulk materials, together with a broad range of value-added building products such as precast concrete, masonry, bricks, roofing products, pipe and drainage systems, and construction accessories.

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