Balefire LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH)

Balefire LLC grew its holdings in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) by 4.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,284 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 310 shares during the quarter. Balefire LLC’s holdings in CRH were worth $641,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in CRH by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,450,632 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $226,732,000 after acquiring an additional 232,977 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CRH in the fourth quarter valued at about $237,000. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of CRH by 142,350.0% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 17,094 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,582,000 after purchasing an additional 17,082 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in shares of CRH during the fourth quarter worth about $683,000. Finally, LGT Group Foundation raised its position in shares of CRH by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 795,108 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $73,563,000 after purchasing an additional 17,755 shares during the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on CRH. Wall Street Zen upgraded CRH from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of CRH in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of CRH in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.18.

CRH Stock Performance

NYSE CRH opened at $88.71 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $92.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.28. Crh Plc has a fifty-two week low of $71.18 and a fifty-two week high of $110.97.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The construction company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.06). CRH had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 15.88%. The firm had revenue of $6.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Crh Plc will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. CRH’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.52%.

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.