Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on CRH (NYSE:CRH)

CRH plc (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors purchased 12,808 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 123% compared to the typical volume of 5,744 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRH

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRH. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its stake in shares of CRH by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 27,769 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,568,000 after buying an additional 2,522 shares during the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in CRH during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Brucke Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CRH in the 4th quarter worth about $608,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of CRH by 70.6% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 61,078 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,654,000 after purchasing an additional 25,278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CRH during the fourth quarter worth about $345,000. 62.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CRH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on CRH from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. HSBC began coverage on CRH in a research note on Monday, November 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $116.00 price objective on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of CRH to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of CRH from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of CRH from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $108.45.

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CRH Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRH traded down $1.45 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $97.34. 10,134,933 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,642,917. CRH has a 52-week low of $71.18 and a 52-week high of $110.97. The business's fifty day moving average price is $99.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.11 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.30.

CRH Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from CRH's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. CRH's payout ratio is currently 20.87%.

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.