CRH (NYSE:CRH) Sets New 1-Year Low - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• CRH shares hit a new 52-week low, trading as low as $89.28, with the stock below both its 50-day ($99.07) and 200-day ($105.92) moving averages.
• Despite the decline, analysts remain broadly bullish: CRH has a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $138.97, although several firms recently lowered their targets.
• CRH exceeded quarterly expectations with $2.21 in EPS and $10.78 billion in revenue, while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.39 per share, representing a 1.7% annualized yield.

Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $89.28 and last traded at $90.9220, with a volume of 105756 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $90.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CRH shares. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Monday, August 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $137.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of CRH from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Berenberg Bank set a $140.00 price objective on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of CRH from $149.00 to $165.60 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on CRH from $132.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $138.97.

CRH Trading Down 0.0%

The stock's fifty day moving average is $99.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.92. The firm has a market cap of $60.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.33.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The construction company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $10.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. CRH had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 15.76%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Crh Plc will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. CRH's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRH

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRH. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of CRH by 158.5% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,670 shares of the construction company's stock worth $763,000 after purchasing an additional 5,316 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in CRH by 5.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,178 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in CRH by 58.5% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,279 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,579 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in CRH by 18.9% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 228,288 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $20,957,000 after purchasing an additional 36,238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in CRH by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 316,818 shares of the construction company's stock worth $29,084,000 after buying an additional 2,348 shares in the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About CRH

CRH plc is a global building materials company that supplies products and solutions used in residential, commercial and infrastructure construction. Its offerings include aggregates, cement, ready-mixed concrete, asphalt, architectural products, precast concrete and other construction-related materials and services.

The company serves customers across North America and Europe, with operations spanning construction materials, infrastructure products and building solutions. CRH supports projects such as roads, bridges, airports, utilities, commercial buildings and residential developments.

CRH was formed in 1970 through the merger of Cement Limited and Roadstone, two Irish building materials businesses.

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