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CRH Boosts Presence in California With Two New Acquisitions

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CRH plc (CRH - Free Report) expands its market reach in Northern California by acquiring BoDean Company Inc. and Northgate Ready Mix, LLC in Santa Rosa, CA.

The two newly acquired companies are considered under CRH’s Materials Solutions business, thus marking the business’ debut in California. Furthermore, the acquired companies complement the Materials Solutions’ business profile in the Western United States. These acquisitions add diversity to the company’s product portfolio with two aggregates quarries, two ready-mixed concrete plants, one asphalt plant and one recycle plant for operations.

CRH has optimistic views on the acquisition as it believes the acquired companies’ focus on innovation and sustainability, and the supply of quality materials will enhance its product profile and growth prospects in the upcoming period.

Shares of this building material company gained 2.3% during the trading hours and inched up 0.1% in the after-hours trading session on Apr 5.

Accretive Acquisitions Boost Growth

CRH consistently focuses on expanding its geographical footprint and product portfolio through strategic acquisitions. The company primarily utilizes several opportunities to expand its product offerings in various fields comprising its solutions capabilities and road infrastructure, utility infrastructure and outdoor living.

During 2023, the company completed 22 strategic bolt-on acquisitions for an investment of approximately $700 million. These new acquisitions sparked CRH’s exposure to high-growth markets and enabled it to leverage the market trends in fostering its growth. Among these 22 new acquisitions, the buyout of Hydro International was the largest one as stated by the company. The addition of this provider of stormwater and wastewater solutions was best fit with CRH’s existing utility infrastructure businesses in North America and Europe.

For the next five years, CRH aims to invest up to $16 billion in mergers and acquisitions, to foster the available pipeline of opportunities in the market and grow its market share in the process. Accompanied by organic growth initiatives, the company believes that inorganic growth strategies will aid it to increase its prospects as well as maintain shareholder value.

Zacks Investment Research
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Shares of this current Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) company hiked 79.8% in the past year, outperforming the Zacks Building Products - Miscellaneous industry’s 69.5% growth.

Other Key Picks

Here are some other top-ranked stocks from the Construction sector.

Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (AWI - Free Report) currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

AWI delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 13.1%, on average. The stock has hiked 78.1% in the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AWI’s 2024 sales and earnings per share (EPS) indicates growth of 4.1% and 7.9%, respectively, from the prior-year levels.

Vulcan Materials Company (VMC - Free Report) currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1. VMC delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 19.5%, on average. The stock has surged 62.7% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for VMC’s 2024 sales and EPS indicates an improvement of 1.3% and 19.7%, respectively, from a year ago.

Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. (STRL - Free Report) presently sports a Zacks Rank of 1. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 20.4%, on average. Shares of STRL have surged 206.2% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for STRL’s 2024 sales and EPS indicates a rise of 11.7% and 11.4%, respectively, from the prior-year levels.

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