Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Grows Position in Crh Plc $CRH

Key Points

• Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its stake in CRH by 18.5%, buying 54,000 shares to hold 345,840 shares worth roughly $43.16 million.
• CRH missed Q4 expectations with EPS of $1.52 and revenue of $9.42 billion despite 6.2% year-over-year revenue growth, yet analysts still show a "Moderate Buy" consensus with a $139.54 average price target and several recent price-target upgrades.
• CRH increased its quarterly dividend to $0.39 (annualized $1.56), implying a yield of about 1.3% and a payout ratio near 28.3%.

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its position in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 18.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 345,840 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 54,000 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned 0.05% of CRH worth $43,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in CRH in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of CRH by 87.6% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 212 shares of the construction company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of CRH during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. United Community Bank boosted its holdings in shares of CRH by 359.6% in the third quarter. United Community Bank now owns 239 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CRH by 1,835.3% in the second quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 329 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on CRH. DA Davidson set a $120.00 price objective on CRH in a report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group increased their price target on CRH from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded CRH to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of CRH from $142.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of 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 given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $139.54.

CRH Stock Up 0.7%

CRH stock opened at $117.99 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $111.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.91. The firm has a market cap of $78.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.35. Crh Plc has a twelve month low of $86.82 and a twelve month high of $131.55.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $9.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.15 billion. CRH had a net margin of 10.02% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The company's revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.02 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Crh Plc will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current year.

CRH Increases Dividend

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