CRH (NYSE:CRH) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of CRH (NYSE:CRH) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Friday.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on CRH. DA Davidson raised their price target on CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Stephens started coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. They issued an overweight rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. They set an outperform rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on CRH from $109.00 to $99.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CRH presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $95.70.

CRH Stock Performance

NYSE:CRH opened at $84.18 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.92. CRH has a fifty-two week low of $51.59 and a fifty-two week high of $88.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.30.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The construction company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.85. The firm had revenue of $9.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.16 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that CRH will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

CRH Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 23rd. CRH’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRH

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new position in CRH during the second quarter worth about $49,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of CRH by 37.5% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 80,305 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,021,000 after buying an additional 21,900 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CRH during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,512,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of CRH by 36,503.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,838,972 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $361,278,000 after buying an additional 4,825,752 shares during the period. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in CRH by 190.1% in the second quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 232,120 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $17,404,000 after acquiring an additional 152,097 shares during the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.