Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of CRH Call Options (NYSE:CRH)

CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 22,193 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 539% compared to the typical volume of 3,474 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of CRH in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of CRH from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of CRH from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $82.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of CRH in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of CRH from $101.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CRH currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.11.

Institutional Trading of CRH

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRH. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in CRH by 17.0% during the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 914 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in CRH by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,748 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in CRH by 71.5% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 415 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CRH by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 783 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in CRH by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 975 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CRH Price Performance

CRH stock traded down $1.37 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $71.59. 2,095,201 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,464,641. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $78.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.24. The company has a market capitalization of $49.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.30. 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) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.60 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CRH will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

CRH Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a Variable dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This is an increase from CRH’s previous Variable dividend of $0.23. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. CRH’s dividend payout ratio is 25.89%.

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.