Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 222.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,587 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,923 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in CRH were worth $755,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in CRH by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,450,632 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $226,732,000 after acquiring an additional 232,977 shares during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in CRH during the fourth quarter worth $2,335,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC increased its stake in CRH by 131.6% during the fourth quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 44,000 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,071,000 after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV increased its stake in CRH by 474.0% during the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 574,000 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $53,106,000 after acquiring an additional 474,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in CRH during the fourth quarter worth $237,000. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised CRH from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on CRH in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $114.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 price target on CRH in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.58.

CRH Trading Down 1.9%

NYSE:CRH opened at $91.11 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $61.56 billion, a PE ratio of 18.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $91.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.61. CRH plc has a 12-month low of $71.18 and a 12-month high of $110.97.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The construction company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $6.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.77 billion. CRH had a net margin of 9.86% and a return on equity of 16.35%. Equities analysts forecast that CRH plc will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. CRH’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.52%.

CRH Profile

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.