CRH plc (CRH) To Go Ex-Dividend on May 23rd

CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, May 5th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of 0.37 per share by the construction company on Wednesday, June 25th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd.

CRH Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of CRH opened at $96.74 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $65.36 billion, a PE ratio of 19.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.33. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.35. CRH has a 12-month low of $71.18 and a 12-month high of $110.97.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The construction company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $6.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.77 billion. CRH had a return on equity of 16.35% and a net margin of 9.86%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CRH will post 5.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CRH. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on CRH from $127.00 to $108.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Loop Capital began coverage on CRH in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $114.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised CRH from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on CRH in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CRH has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $112.58.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRH

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in CRH stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 158.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,670 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,316 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in CRH were worth $763,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

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.