Should You Buy CRH PLC (CRH) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.
Conclusion
Buy
Latest Price
122.460
1 Day change
-0.99%
52 Week Range
131.550
Analysis Updated At
2026/01/28
BUY for a beginner long-term investor with $50k–$100k: CRH is attractive right now because fundamentals are growing (Q3 2025 revenue/EPS up mid-to-high single digits), Wall Street is broadly bullish with price targets well above the current ~$122, and the company is actively retiring shares via a $300M buyback (near-term support + long-term EPS tailwind). Near-term technicals are slightly weak and pattern-based signals imply downside risk over the next few weeks, but for an impatient long-term buyer the buyback + strong analyst/flow backdrop makes it a good buy today (ideally as a partial position now with room to add if it dips toward ~$119–$117 support).
Technical Analysis
Trend/Momentum: Mildly bearish-to-neutral. MACD histogram is negative (-0.505) but contracting (downtrend losing strength). RSI(6) ~42.5 is neutral-to-soft (not oversold, but weak). Moving averages are converging, consistent with consolidation after a pullback.
Key levels: Current ~$122.44 is just below the pivot (122.892). Near-term resistance is ~126.31 (R1) then ~128.41 (R2). Support sits at ~119.48 (S1) then ~117.37 (S2). A clean hold above ~119.5 would keep the longer-term uptrend thesis intact; a break below ~117 would be technically damaging.
Quant/pattern read: Similar-candlestick pattern stats suggest a high probability of short-term drift lower (next day -1.89%, next week -4.48%, next month -7.67%), so expect choppiness even if the long-term story remains solid.
Intellectia Proprietary Trading Signals
- [AI Stock Picker](module://ai_stock_pick): No signal on given stock today.
- [SwingMax](module://swingmax): No signal on given stock recently.
Options Data
Bullish
Open Interest Put-Call Ratio
Bullish
Option Volume Put-Call Ratio
Sentiment: Bullish-leaning. Put/Call open interest ratio of 0.74 and very low put/call volume ratio of 0.21 indicate calls are dominating (more bullish positioning/flow than bearish hedging).
Volatility: 30D IV ~32.22 vs historical vol ~18.53 suggests options are pricing elevated movement relative to realized. IV percentile ~52 (middle of the range) and IV rank ~25.5 (not extreme). Today’s options volume is below its recent averages (today 1,036 vs 5D avg ~1,515 and 10D avg ~1,682), implying no panic/mania today—more of a steady bullish tilt than a one-day speculative surge.
Technical Summary
Sell
8
Buy
4
Positive Catalysts
1) Active capital return: $300M share buyback (announced Jan 26, 2026) with cancellation of shares is directly EPS-accretive and often supports the stock on dips.
2) Ongoing buyback execution: company already repurchased shares around ~$119.86 (Jan 22, 2026), signaling willingness to buy near current levels.
3) Institutional flow: Hedge funds are buying; reported buying amount up ~168.6% over the last quarter.
4) Analyst support: Multiple firms maintain Buy/Overweight with raised targets into 2026 outlook (infrastructure/heavy materials preference tailwind).
5) Upcoming catalyst: Next earnings (QDEC 2025) on 2026-02-18 after hours could re-rate shares if guidance/earnings beat expectations.
Neutral/Negative Catalysts
1) Short-term technical softness: MACD remains negative and price is hovering just below pivot; risk of retesting ~$119–$117 supports.
2) Pattern-based near-term downside risk: model suggests elevated probability of declines over the next week/month.
3) Options imply elevated movement: IV notably above historical volatility, meaning the market is pricing larger swings (can cut both ways) into the next catalysts (including earnings).
Financial Performance
Latest reported quarter: 2025/Q3. Growth trends are positive and consistent: Revenue $11.069B (+5.27% YoY), Net Income $1.503B (+9.23% YoY), EPS $2.23 (+10.95% YoY). Gross margin improved to 38.93 (+0.85 YoY), indicating modest margin expansion alongside earnings growth—healthy for a long-term compounding story. This supports the buyback thesis (retiring shares while earnings trend upward).
Growth
Profitability
Efficiency
Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends
Recent trend: Predominantly positive with multiple upward price target revisions/initiations. UBS raised PT to $147 (Buy) and Citi raised PT to $155 (Buy) on 2026-01-08; Longbow initiated Buy with $160 PT (2025-12-16). Deutsche Bank maintains Buy around $139; JPMorgan Overweight with $135; Berenberg Buy $138. The main cautious note is DA Davidson (Neutral) with $116 PT, citing muted organic growth offset by capital deployment.
Wall Street pros: (1) Strong positioning in heavy construction materials/infrastructure exposure, (2) capital deployment and buybacks supporting EPS, (3) steady earnings growth and improving margins.
Wall Street cons: (1) Organic growth described as muted by at least one analyst, (2) sensitivity to construction cycle/valuation multiple compression risk noted in peer comps.
Influential/political trading: No recent congress trading data available; no politician/influential-figure transactions provided in the dataset.
Wall Street analysts forecast CRH stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for CRH is 142.05 USD with a low forecast of 131 USD and a high forecast of 164 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
14 Analyst Rating
Wall Street analysts forecast CRH stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for CRH is 142.05 USD with a low forecast of 131 USD and a high forecast of 164 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
13 Buy
1 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 123.680
Low
131
Averages
142.05
High
164
Current: 123.680
Low
131
Averages
142.05
High
164
UBS
Buy
maintain
$138 -> $147
AI Analysis
2026-01-08
Reason
UBS
Price Target
$138 -> $147
AI Analysis
2026-01-08
maintain
Buy
Reason
UBS raised the firm's price target on CRH to $147 from $138 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares.
Citi
Buy
maintain
$142 -> $155
2026-01-08
Reason
Citi
Price Target
$142 -> $155
2026-01-08
maintain
Buy
Reason
Citi raised the firm's price target on CRH to $155 from $142 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm updated estimates and targets in the homebuilding and building products group as part of its 2026 outlook. Citi continues to prefer heavy construction materials with exposure to infrastructure over the residential exposed names.
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