CRH (NYSE:CRH) Upgraded by DA Davidson to “Strong-Buy” Rating

DA Davidson upgraded shares of CRH (NYSE:CRH) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Stephens lowered their price objective on CRH from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of CRH from $135.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of CRH in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Truist Financial lowered their price target on CRH from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded CRH from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.57.

CRH Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRH opened at $96.42 on Monday. CRH has a 1-year low of $92.52 and a 1-year high of $131.55. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $102.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.14. The company has a market capitalization of $64.15 billion, a PE ratio of 17.01, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.34.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The construction company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $10.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. CRH had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 15.76%. CRH’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CRH will post 5.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. CRH’s payout ratio is 27.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRH

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of CRH by 10,631.6% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 83,361,667 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,919,698,000 after purchasing an additional 82,584,877 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CRH in the 4th quarter worth $1,476,939,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in CRH by 81.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,895,205 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,106,927,000 after acquiring an additional 11,167,189 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of CRH by 67.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,709,575 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,827,252,000 after acquiring an additional 5,916,930 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its position in shares of CRH by 74.7% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 5,965,814 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $627,126,000 after purchasing an additional 2,550,178 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

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.