Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) has received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fifteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $139.44.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CRH shares. Stephens decreased their price target on CRH from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of CRH from $149.00 to $165.60 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on CRH from $135.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings raised CRH from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd.

Institutional Trading of CRH

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRH. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of CRH by 680.6% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 119,237 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $14,881,000 after acquiring an additional 103,962 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in CRH by 4.1% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,336,754 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $245,460,000 after purchasing an additional 93,106 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in CRH by 33.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,021,734 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $377,112,000 after purchasing an additional 752,463 shares during the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in CRH by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 4,337,447 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $541,313,000 after purchasing an additional 137,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in CRH by 38.2% in the fourth quarter. Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd now owns 98,038 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $12,235,000 after purchasing an additional 27,118 shares in the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CRH Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:CRH opened at $100.08 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $105.03 and a 200-day moving average of $110.69. The firm has a market cap of $66.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.34. CRH has a twelve month low of $94.11 and a twelve month high of $131.55.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.19. CRH had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 15.76%. The business had revenue of $10.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. CRH has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.600-6.050 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that CRH will post 5.8 EPS for the current year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. CRH’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.51%.

CRH Company Profile

CRH plc, originally formed as Cement Roadstone Holdings in 1970 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is a global building materials group. The company has grown from its Irish roots into one of the largest international suppliers of construction materials, expanding primarily through acquisitions and regional business development. CRH operates an integrated network of manufacturing and distribution businesses that serve both public and private construction markets.

CRH’s core activities include the production and distribution of aggregates, cement, asphalt, ready-mixed concrete and other bulk materials, together with a broad range of value-added building products such as precast concrete, masonry, bricks, roofing products, pipe and drainage systems, and construction accessories.