CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

CRH plc (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,210,000 shares, a growth of 26.4% from the November 30th total of 9,660,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,670,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

CRH Trading Down 1.1 %

CRH traded down $1.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $93.58. 1,335,887 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,726,681. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.88. CRH has a 52-week low of $65.74 and a 52-week high of $104.23. The company has a market capitalization of $63.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.72, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.29.

CRH Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Variable dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.262 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. CRH's payout ratio is 21.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRH

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of CRH by 33.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 36,156,017 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,341,258,000 after acquiring an additional 9,055,354 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in CRH by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,351,050 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,329,796,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148,708 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in CRH by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,139,233 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,218,532,000 after purchasing an additional 618,786 shares during the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of CRH by 0.3% in the third quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 11,155,273 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,034,540,000 after buying an additional 35,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CRH by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,985,356 shares of the construction company's stock worth $738,113,000 after buying an additional 165,825 shares in the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CRH. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of CRH to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. HSBC initiated coverage on CRH in a research note on Monday, November 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $116.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial upped their target price on CRH from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Barclays began coverage on CRH in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on CRH from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $106.42.

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.

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