CRH (NYSE:CRH) Hits New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $80.08 and last traded at $80.43, with a volume of 1,207,941 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRH has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of CRH from $159.50 to $126.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. DA Davidson began coverage on CRH in a report on Monday, August 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $137.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Friday, September 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $139.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of CRH from $165.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stephens dropped their price target on CRH from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $128.92.

CRH Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $53.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.20, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $90.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.57.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The construction company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $10.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. CRH had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 15.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Crh Plc will post 5.90 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. CRH’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.51%.

Institutional Trading of CRH

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRH. Bell Investment Advisors Inc raised its holdings in CRH by 51.2% in the first quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 304 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Acorn Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of CRH by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Acorn Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,658 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC increased its position in CRH by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,695 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Cloverfields Capital Group LP boosted its holdings in CRH by 0.3% in the first quarter. Cloverfields Capital Group LP now owns 37,937 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,988,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CRH by 5.9% in the second quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,312 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

About CRH

CRH plc is a global building materials company headquartered in Ireland. Formerly known as Cement Roadstone Holdings, the company was formed in 1970 through the merger of Cement Limited and Roadstone Limited. CRH provides materials, products and services used in residential, commercial and infrastructure construction.

Its portfolio includes aggregates, asphalt, ready-mixed concrete, cement, architectural products, precast concrete, paving and construction accessories. The company serves customers across the construction value chain, including contractors, distributors, homebuilders and infrastructure developers.

CRH operates primarily in North America and Europe, with businesses spanning the United States, Canada and multiple European markets.