CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) Receives $91.90 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $91.90.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CRH. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of CRH in a report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com lowered CRH from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Stephens began coverage on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of CRH from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $87.00 to $88.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRH

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CRH by 436.4% in the 2nd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,671 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 6,241 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of CRH by 26.3% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,398 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $630,000 after purchasing an additional 1,747 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its position in CRH by 1.4% during the second quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 191,693 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $14,373,000 after purchasing an additional 2,579 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in CRH by 51.3% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 41,938 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,145,000 after purchasing an additional 14,222 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new position in CRH in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,745,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

CRH Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE:CRH opened at $82.62 on Friday. CRH has a twelve month low of $51.59 and a twelve month high of $88.00. The company’s 50 day moving average is $78.35 and its 200 day moving average is $77.92.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 10th. The construction company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.60 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that CRH will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a Variable dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a boost from CRH’s previous Variable dividend of $0.23. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd.

CRH Company 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.