CRH (NYSE:CRH) Research Coverage Started at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of CRH (NYSE:CRH) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $139.00 price target on the construction company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on CRH. Weiss Ratings raised CRH from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of CRH from $149.00 to $165.60 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Berenberg Bank set a $140.00 target price on shares of CRH in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of CRH from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of CRH in a report on Monday, August 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $137.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $139.57.

CRH Trading Up 0.0%

CRH opened at $88.57 on Friday. CRH has a twelve month low of $86.84 and a twelve month high of $131.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.92 billion, a PE ratio of 15.62, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $97.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.17.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The construction company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $10.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. CRH had a return on equity of 15.76% and a net margin of 9.93%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that CRH will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. CRH’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRH

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CRH in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new position in CRH during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in CRH by 29,400.0% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 295 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in CRH in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of CRH by 51.2% in the first quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 304 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

CRH Company Profile

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.