CRH is Thursday's IBD Stock Of The Day. The Ireland-domiciled building materials supplier pushed above a buy point.
CRH stock popped 4% to 105.19, moving above a 102.20 buy point for an eight-week cup-with-handle base. Shares hit a record high as well.
The stock's relative strength line is at 52-week highs, with an 83 RS Rating.
The current buy zone for the pattern, which stretches 5% beyond the buy point, extends to 107.31.
CRH stock is up more than 15% from its January low.
CRH Sells SigmaRoc Stake
The breakout comes after CRH early Thursday agreed to sell its entire 15.4% stake in U.K.-based materials supplier SigmaRoc, MarketWatch reported. Subject to completion and approval, CRH said it will sell 171.6 million shares at 67 pence per share for a total of 115 million pounds, or about $143.8 million.
Meanwhile, CRH's financial results have been a bit choppy on a quarterly basis. The company's earnings growth has slowed over the past two quarters to a 9% gain in Q3 from a 420% increase in Q1. Revenue growth has ranged between a 1% decline and 4% growth over that period.
For CRH's Q4 report on Feb. 26, FactSet analysts expect earnings of $1.44 per share on $9 billion in revenue, up from 96 cents and $8.7 billion, respectively, a year earlier.
And its annual earnings growth has shown progress. From $1.73 a share in 2020, EPS has climbed to $3.45, $3.80 and $4.33 in the following three years, with $5.48 seen for 2024 and $6.03 this year.
Meanwhile, Citi in an early January research note wrote that it expects 2025 to be a "very modest rebound year" for housing starts, remodeling spend and cement volumes, after they fell last year. The firm remains cautious on homebuilders, which it says have the greatest sensitivity to elevated interest rates. Citi called CRH one of its top picks in the homebuilding and building products space.
The firm has a buy rating on the shares, but lowered its price target on CRH to 115 from 120.
You can follow Harrison Miller for more stock news and updates on X/Twitter @IBD_Harrison
