CRH (NYSE:CRH) Coverage Initiated at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of CRH (NYSE:CRH) in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $115.00 target price on the construction company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of CRH from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 price objective on shares of CRH in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of CRH from $127.00 to $108.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $112.58.

CRH Stock Performance

CRH stock opened at $98.21 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $91.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.26. CRH has a fifty-two week low of $71.18 and a fifty-two week high of $110.97. The company has a market capitalization of $66.36 billion, a PE ratio of 19.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.33.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last posted 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 9.86% and a return on equity of 16.35%. The company had revenue of $6.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. On average, analysts forecast that CRH will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. CRH’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRH

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in shares of CRH by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 2,335 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of CRH by 5.0% during the first quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,572 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of CRH by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 755 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of CRH by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,810 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $630,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of CRH by 4.4% during the first quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 3,074 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is 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.