CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) Receives $95.70 Consensus PT from Analysts

CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $95.70.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley raised shares of CRH from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $87.00 to $88.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com lowered CRH from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on CRH in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRH. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in CRH during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of CRH by 336.4% during the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 336 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of CRH by 71.5% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 415 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in CRH in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in CRH in the second quarter valued at about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

CRH Price Performance

Shares of CRH stock opened at $90.77 on Friday. CRH has a fifty-two week low of $51.59 and a fifty-two week high of $91.02. The business’s fifty day moving average is $81.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.04.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The construction company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.85. The business had revenue of $9.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.16 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that CRH will post 5.44 EPS for the current year.

CRH Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 23rd. This represents a yield of 1.7%.

About CRH

CRH plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides building materials solutions in Ireland and internationally. It operates through four segments: Americas Materials Solutions, Americas Building Solutions, Europe Materials Solutions, and Europe Building Solutions. The company provides solutions for the construction and maintenance of public infrastructure and commercial and residential buildings; and produces and sells aggregates, cement, readymixed concrete, and asphalt, as well as provides paving and construction services.