CRH plc (CRH): Among the Best Foreign Stocks to Buy According to Billionaires
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) stands against other best foreign stocks to invest in.
The global economy demonstrated resilience in 2024, maintaining a steady annualized growth rate of 3.2% in the latter half of the year. However, recent economic indicators suggest that global growth may be losing momentum. The OECD forecasts that global growth will be 3.1% in 2025 and 3% in 2026, compared to 3.2% in 2024. The marginal fall in growth is because of rising trade restrictions across economies, strict policy updates that often upend investment opportunities, and uncertain household spending. Although growth in the United States has been very strong as of late, it is expected to slow down to 2.2% this year and 1.6% in 2026. Economic growth will be weak in the Euro Zone as well, with OECD projecting real GDP growth of 1.0% in 2025 and 1.2% in 2026. China follows a similar trend, with growth declining to 4.4% in 2026 from 4.8% in the current year.
In the midst of stagnant global economic forecasts, Michael Hartnett, an analyst at Bank of America, cautioned investors that the United States stock market is coming off its recent highs, and is no longer benefiting from high fiscal spending, lenient immigration policies, and robust AI budgets. The analyst noted that Chinese competitors are now successfully producing large language models for under $6 million, which is a fraction of the billions spent by American firms to create the same tech. Similarly, Manish Kabra of Societe Generale observed that Chinese developments in AI are disrupting investor confidence and making them question spending by American tech firms.
BofA's Michael Hartnett noted that investors are not paying attention to foreign markets like Japan and Europe, where stocks are cheaper, and value stocks are ahead of their growth counterparts. He pointed out that Japan's Nikkei 225 has climbed 9% in the past year, while the European index displayed outperformance at the beginning of 2025.
Others also share a similar sentiment about foreign stocks. For example, David Herro, partner and portfolio manager at Harris Associates, joined CNBC on January 15, 2025, and commented that US stocks are largely overvalued, so it is only logical to look for opportunities elsewhere. This is where foreign markets come into play. According to Herro, fundamentals of overseas stocks are okay, and while they may not be robust, these stocks are growing in mid-single digits with attractive valuations. These valuation characteristics make it almost impossible not to consider these foreign stocks and increase international portfolio exposure. He noted that companies based out of Europe are not just doing business there, but their operations are spread worldwide. For cheap valuations, this is a huge plus. For long-term investors, he suggested that they should mainly focus on company fundamentals rather than the macroeconomic environment that they operate in because that's how you make money.
A construction worker wearing a hard hat and safety glasses at a site, carrying concrete blocks.
For this article, we referred to Insider Monkey's database containing billionaires' stock picks and chose the top 10 companies headquartered outside the United States that were most popular with billionaire investors in Q4 of 2024. We have also mentioned the value of billionaire holdings for further insight. The stocks are ranked in ascending order based on the number of billionaire investors.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points ().
Number of Billionaire Investors: 16
Value of Billionaire Holdings: $2.16 billion
CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) operates in Ireland, the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, and globally. It is a building materials company that supplies construction materials, paving services, aggregates, cement, and ready-mix concrete for infrastructure, commercial, and residential projects. CRH ranks 9th on our list of the best foreign stocks to invest in.
On March 20, Truist Securities assigned a Buy rating to CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) with a $120 price target. Analyst Keith Hughes sees big opportunities in Europe's construction market, especially with Ukraine's potential rebuilding efforts and Germany's stimulus spending. 28% of its revenue is generated from Europe, and this allows CRH's US investors unique access to the region's growth.
In Q4 2024, CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) posted a revenue of $8.9 billion and a net income of $0.7 billion. These figures increased by 2% and 24% year-over-year, respectively. Adjusted EBITDA was positively impacted by a favorable pricing mix, operational efficiency, and acquisitions, rising 12% to $1.8 billion. EPS also increased 4% to $1.03. In 2024, CRH made 40 acquisitions worth $5 billion, including a $2.1 billion cement/concrete deal in Texas. It also sold $1.4 billion in assets, mainly European Lime operations.
On February 27, CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) announced a quarterly per share dividend of $0.37, reflecting a 5.7% increase from its last dividend of $0.35. The dividend will be paid on April 16, to shareholders listed by March 14.
Overall, CRH ranks 9th on our list of the best foreign stocks to buy according to billionaires. While we acknowledge the potential of CRH to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that certain AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than CRH but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the .
READ NEXT: and .
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
NATO chief Rutte calls for 400% increase in the alliance's air and missile defense
LONDON (AP) — NATO members need to increase their air and missile defenses by 400% to counter the threat from Russia, the head of the military alliance plans to say on Monday. Secretary-General Mark Rutte will say during a visit to London that NATO must take a 'quantum leap in our collective defense' to face growing instability and threats, according to extracts released by NATO before Rutte's speech. Rutte is due to meet U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing St. ahead of a NATO summit in the Netherlands where the 32-nation alliance is likely to commit to a big hike in military spending. Like other NATO members, the U.K. has been reassessing its defense spending since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Starmer has pledged to increase British defense spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2027 and to 3% by 2034. Rutte has proposed a target of 3.5% of economic output on military spending and another 1.5% on 'defense-related expenditure' such as roads, bridges, airfields and sea ports. He said last week he is confident the alliance will agree to the target at its summit in The Hague on June 24-25. At the moment, 22 of the 32 member countries meet or exceed NATO's current 2% target. The new target would meet a demand by President Donald Trump that member states spend 5% of gross domestic product on defense. Trump has long questioned the value of NATO and complained that the U.S. provides security to European countries that don't contribute enough. Rutte plans to say in a speech at the Chatham House think tank in London that NATO needs thousands more armored vehicles and millions more artillery shells, as well as a 400% increase in air and missile defense. 'We see in Ukraine how Russia delivers terror from above, so we will strengthen the shield that protects our skies,' he plans to say. 'Wishful thinking will not keep us safe. We cannot dream away the danger. Hope is not a strategy. So NATO has to become a stronger, fairer and more lethal alliance.' European NATO members, led by the U.K. and France, have scrambled to coordinate their defense posture as Trump transforms American foreign policy, seemingly sidelining Europe as he looks to end the war in Ukraine. Last week the U.K. government said it would build new nuclear-powered attack submarines, prepare its army to fight a war in Europe and become 'a battle-ready, armor-clad nation.' The plans represent the most sweeping changes to British defenses since the collapse of the Soviet Union more than three decades ago.
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Iran says to submit own nuclear proposal to US soon
Iran said Monday it will soon present a counter-proposal on a nuclear deal with the United States, after it had described Washington's offer as containing "ambiguities". Tehran and Washington have held five rounds of talks since April to thrash out a new nuclear accord to replace the deal with major powers that US President Donald Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018. The longtime foes have been locked in a diplomatic standoff over Iran's uranium enrichment, with Tehran defending it as a "non-negotiable" right and Washington describing it as a "red line". On May 31, after the fifth round talks, Iran said it had received "elements" of a US proposal, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying later the text contained "ambiguities". Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei criticised the US proposal as "lacking elements" reflective of the previous rounds of negotiations, without providing further details. "We will soon submit our own proposed plan to the other side through (mediator) Oman once it is finalised," Baqaei told a weekly press briefing. "It is a proposal that is reasonable, logical, and balanced, and we strongly recommend that the American side value this opportunity." Iran's parliament speaker has said the US proposal failed to include the lifting of sanctions -- a key demand for Tehran, which has been reeling under their weight for years. - 'Strategic mistake' - Trump, who has revived his "maximum pressure" campaign of sanctions on Iran since taking office in January, has repeatedly said it will not be allowed any uranium enrichment under a potential deal. On Wednesday, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the US offer was "100 percent against" notions of independence and self-reliance. He insisted that uranium enrichment was "key" to Iran's nuclear programme and that the US "cannot have a say" on the issue. Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67-percent limit set in the 2015 deal and close though still short of the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead. Western countries, including the United States, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire atomic weapons, while Iran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes The United Nations nuclear watchdog will convene a Board of Governors meeting from June 9-13 in Vienna to discuss Iran's nuclear activities. The meeting comes after the International Atomic Energy Agency released a report criticising "less than satisfactory" cooperation from Tehran, particularly in explaining past cases of nuclear material found at undeclared sites. Iran has criticised the IAEA report as unbalanced, saying it relied on "forged documents" provided by its arch foe Israel. Britain, France and Germany, the three European countries who were party to the 2015 deal, are currently weighing whether to trigger the sanctions "snapback" mechanism in the accord. The mechanism would reinstate UN sanctions in response to Iranian non-compliance -- an option that expires in October. On Friday, Araghchi warned European powers against backing a draft resolution at the IAEA accusing Tehran of non-compliance, calling it a "strategic mistake". On Monday, Baqaei said Iran has "prepared and formulated a series of steps and measures" if the resolution passed. "Without a doubt, the response to confrontation will not be more cooperation," he added. rkh-mz/ysm
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
China wants slimmer pigs
By Ella Cao and Lewis Jackson BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese farmers and small firms have increasingly bought market-ready pigs from larger breeders and fattened them in a bet on higher prices, but the government is cracking down on the speculative practice to slim down hogs and stabilise the market. For small breeders, "refattening" or buying adult hogs from big producers and feeding them for an extra few months until they put on an extra 40-50kg is a way to gamble on pork prices rising. But analysts say regulators are concerned the bets fuel big price swings and squander feed, in the latter case clashing with a national push to cut grain use in livestock, especially as the trade war with the U.S. underscores a long-standing goal to reduce dependence on food imports. "It can lead to short-term shortages followed by a glut, driving big price swings and unsettling the market," said Pan Chenjun, senior animal protein analyst at Rabobank. "The government seems intent on stabilising pork prices, which remain weak, while protecting small farmers from losses and curbing speculative behaviour," Pan added. Muyuan Foods, China's top pig breeder, told state-run Beijing News in late May that it had halted sales to refatteners, after rumours of a policy meeting targeting the practice boosted pig firm stocks. A crackdown is already underway, according to a source directly familiar with the matter and two briefed by others involved, one of whom said Guangdong province in southern China is a particularly strict enforcer. The National Development and Reform Commission and Muyuan did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment. China, the world's biggest pork consumer, is grappling with weak demand and oversupply that have eroded margins. Cash hog prices have hovered around 14 yuan per kg since February, down from a peak of 21 yuan last August, according to MySteel data. Refattening boosts pork supply when the pigs hit the market and worsens price drops when the market is already falling, said Lin Guofa, senior analyst at Bric Agriculture Group, a consultancy. A 150-kg pig yields about 142% of the pork produced by a 115-kg pig, Lin added. Feed efficiency is also a concern as China looks to cut grain use in animal feed, especially with the trade war speeding its move away from the U.S. soybeans that mostly go into animal feed. Pigs are most efficient at around 120 kg - beyond that, they eat more but grow less, Pan said.
