CRH (NYSE:CRH) Earns Overweight Rating from Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of CRH (NYSE:CRH) in a research note published on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating on the construction company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on CRH. Bank of America started coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Friday, September 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $128.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of CRH to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of CRH from $112.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Vertical Research raised shares of CRH to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $134.00 target price on shares of CRH in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.71.

CRH Price Performance

Shares of CRH opened at $120.19 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.48. CRH has a 1-year low of $76.75 and a 1-year high of $121.88. The stock has a market cap of $80.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.32.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The construction company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by ($0.12). CRH had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.09%.The business had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.27 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that CRH will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. CRH’s payout ratio is currently 23.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MGO One Seven LLC acquired a new position in CRH in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $263,000. Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in CRH by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 7,398 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $887,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of CRH by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in shares of CRH by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 74,862 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,976,000 after purchasing an additional 3,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of CRH by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 28,600 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,429,000 after purchasing an additional 2,391 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

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.