CRH (NYSE:CRH) Hits New 1-Year Low - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• CRH fell to a new 52-week low of $80.08, trading below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, with shares down 0.8% during the session.
• Despite lowering their price targets, analysts remain broadly bullish: CRH has a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $128.92, well above the recent trading level.
• Recent quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings of $2.21 per share and revenue of $10.78 billion, while the company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.39 per share, yielding about 1.9%.

Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $80.08 and last traded at $80.43, with a volume of 1,207,941 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $81.05.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CRH shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of CRH from $159.50 to $126.50 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Truist Financial dropped their target price on CRH from $130.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Berenberg Bank set a $140.00 price target on CRH in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of CRH from $107.00 to $106.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on CRH from $147.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CRH presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $128.92.

CRH Stock Down 0.8%

The company has a market cap of $53.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a fifty day moving average of $90.67 and a 200 day moving average of $101.57.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The construction company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.19. CRH had a return on equity of 15.76% and a net margin of 9.93%. The firm had revenue of $10.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Crh Plc will post 5.90 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. CRH's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.51%.

Institutional Trading of CRH

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new stake in CRH in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its stake in CRH by 51.2% during the 1st quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 304 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new position in CRH in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CRH in the second quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Eastern Bank increased its position in CRH by 36.5% during the second quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 550 shares of the construction company's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About CRH

CRH plc is a global building materials company headquartered in Ireland. Formerly known as Cement Roadstone Holdings, the company was formed in 1970 through the merger of Cement Limited and Roadstone Limited. CRH provides materials, products and services used in residential, commercial and infrastructure construction.

Its portfolio includes aggregates, asphalt, ready-mixed concrete, cement, architectural products, precast concrete, paving and construction accessories. The company serves customers across the construction value chain, including contractors, distributors, homebuilders and infrastructure developers.

CRH operates primarily in North America and Europe, with businesses spanning the United States, Canada and multiple European markets.

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