CRH (NYSE:CRH) Upgraded by Morgan Stanley to Overweight

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of CRH (NYSE:CRH) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $88.00 target price on the construction company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $87.00.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. 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 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. They set an outperform rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of CRH from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of CRH from $101.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a hold rating and set a $82.00 target price (up previously from $80.00) on shares of CRH in a report on Monday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CRH has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $91.90.

CRH Stock Performance

CRH stock opened at $79.42 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $78.36 and its 200-day moving average is $77.63. CRH has a fifty-two week low of $51.59 and a fifty-two week high of $88.00.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 10th. The construction company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.60 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that CRH will post 5.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRH Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of CRH

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRH. Vanguard Group Inc. bought a new stake in CRH in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,484,901,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of CRH during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,014,454,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of CRH during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $416,982,000. Putnam Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CRH by 3,384.4% during the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 6,781,697 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $469,022,000 after acquiring an additional 6,587,066 shares during the period. Finally, Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of CRH during the 4th quarter worth approximately $395,583,000. Institutional investors 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.