CRH (NYSE:CRH) Now Covered by Analysts at Barclays

Barclays initiated coverage on shares of CRH (NYSE:CRH) in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $110.00 target price on the construction company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of CRH from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $87.00 to $88.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of CRH from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of CRH from $109.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CRH presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.00.

CRH Stock Performance

CRH stock opened at $94.64 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $90.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.11. CRH has a 52-week low of $53.05 and a 52-week high of $94.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.30.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The construction company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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, sell-side analysts forecast that CRH will post 5.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a yield of 1.7%. CRH’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRH

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new stake in CRH during the 1st quarter valued at $71,172,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in CRH by 211.8% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 38,683 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,337,000 after purchasing an additional 26,276 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in CRH in the first quarter worth about $4,041,000. Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of CRH in the first quarter worth about $1,277,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of CRH by 510.9% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 22,751 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,963,000 after buying an additional 19,027 shares in the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.