Gates Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stake in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Gates Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,746,995 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 154,767 shares during the quarter. CRH accounts for about 3.0% of Gates Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Gates Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in CRH were worth $161,632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CRH. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of CRH in the 4th quarter worth about $1,391,245,000. FMR LLC grew its position in CRH by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,843,362 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,781,004,000 after acquiring an additional 4,687,345 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in CRH by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,788,918 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,553,194,000 after buying an additional 2,437,868 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in CRH by 72.2% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,717,597 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $436,472,000 after acquiring an additional 1,978,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CRH by 931.3% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,977,992 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $183,004,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786,189 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded CRH from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $114.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on CRH from $127.00 to $108.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of CRH in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 price objective on shares of CRH in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $112.36.

CRH Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE CRH opened at $94.70 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $91.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.13. CRH plc has a 52-week low of $71.18 and a 52-week high of $110.97. The company has a market cap of $64.05 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.33.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last released its 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.77 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CRH plc will post 5.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. CRH’s payout ratio is presently 22.66%.

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.