Analysts Set CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) Target Price at $79.31

Shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $79.31.

Several brokerages have issued reports on CRH. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Friday, January 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Vertical Research began coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of CRH from $101.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of CRH from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and set a $82.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of CRH in a research note on Monday, April 15th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRH

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in CRH during the third quarter valued at about $352,000. Manning & Napier Group LLC boosted its holdings in CRH by 1.1% during the third quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 84,486 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,624,000 after acquiring an additional 906 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in CRH by 38.3% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,046 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $714,000 after acquiring an additional 3,612 shares during the period. Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA boosted its holdings in CRH by 196.4% during the third quarter. Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA now owns 165,766 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,827,000 after acquiring an additional 109,842 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in CRH by 5,175.7% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,091,650 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $388,126,000 after acquiring an additional 6,957,228 shares during the period. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CRH Stock Performance

NYSE CRH opened at $77.42 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.28. CRH has a 1 year low of $47.14 and a 1 year high of $88.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $82.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.24.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The construction company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $8.69 billion during the quarter. On average, research analysts forecast that CRH will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a Variable dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.262 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. CRH’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

CRH Company Profile

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.