Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Takes Position in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 32,950 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,842,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in shares of CRH in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Orion Capital Management LLC raised its stake in CRH by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CRH by 71.5% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 415 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CRH in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. purchased a new position in shares of CRH during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on CRH. StockNews.com cut CRH from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Citigroup upped their price objective 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. Vertical Research assumed coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $82.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of CRH in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on CRH from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CRH currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.11.

CRH Stock Performance

CRH traded down $0.81 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $72.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 907,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,448,393. CRH plc has a twelve month low of $51.59 and a twelve month high of $88.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.26.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 10th. The construction company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.60 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that CRH plc will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

CRH Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a Variable dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. This is an increase from CRH’s previous Variable dividend of $0.23.

CRH 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.