Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $127.61

Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the twenty analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eighteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $127.61.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CRH. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on CRH from $165.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 9th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on CRH from $157.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on CRH from $107.00 to $106.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Berenberg Bank set a $140.00 price objective on CRH in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on CRH from $122.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 2nd.

Institutional Trading of CRH

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of CRH by 74.7% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 5,965,814 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $627,126,000 after buying an additional 2,550,178 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in CRH by 441.4% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,468,493 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $154,218,000 after acquiring an additional 1,197,255 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in CRH during the first quarter valued at approximately $79,124,000. Interval Partners LP purchased a new position in CRH during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,127,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in CRH by 27.9% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,186,541 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $228,994,000 after acquiring an additional 477,242 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

CRH Stock Up 1.5%

CRH stock opened at $83.52 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $55.56 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.31. CRH has a 12-month low of $78.62 and a 12-month high of $131.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $89.22 and its 200 day moving average is $100.96.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The construction company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $10.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that CRH will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. CRH’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.51%.

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.