CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,460,000 shares, a growth of 8.1% from the June 30th total of 10,600,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 7,450,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of CRH from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of CRH from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of CRH from $109.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $82.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of CRH in a report on Monday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.90.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRH. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of CRH during the 4th quarter worth about $1,014,454,000. Putnam Investments LLC grew its stake in CRH by 3,384.4% during the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 6,781,697 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $469,022,000 after acquiring an additional 6,587,066 shares in the last quarter. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in CRH during the 4th quarter valued at about $395,583,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in CRH by 35,497.5% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,082,961 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $438,455,000 after acquiring an additional 5,068,682 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in CRH by 2,199.7% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,342,432 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $288,383,000 after acquiring an additional 3,197,092 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

CRH Stock Performance

NYSE CRH traded up $1.49 on Tuesday, reaching $84.09. 4,483,792 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,363,312. The firm has a market cap of $57.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $78.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.84. CRH has a fifty-two week low of $51.59 and a fifty-two week high of $88.00.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 10th. The construction company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.60 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CRH will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRH Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a Variable dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. This is an increase from CRH’s previous Variable dividend of $0.23. CRH’s dividend payout ratio is 25.85%.

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.