Deutsche Bank bullish on CRH's US potential

CRH shares were given a lift on Wednesday by analysts at Deutsche Bank who reiterated their 'buy' rating on the building materials giant, citing "powerful long-term stimulus".

The bank decided to refresh its estimates for the company to reflect its change of primary listing from London to New York, but kept a positive recommendation with the shares trading at an enterprise value-to-EBITDA multiple of around 8x, which it said was "attractive given its market-leading positions".

Deutsche Bank also kept a 6,012p target price, representing significant upside from Wednesday's 5,262p level, up 1.2% on the day.

CRH's skew towards the US market is the main driver behind the upbeat outlook, where government support remains strong, with the Americas division accounting for around three quarters of group EBITDA on 2024 estimates.

"Stimulus packages now point to $2trn of federal spending over ten years. The largest component, the IIJA (total spend $1.2trn) provides the strongest ever support for major projects, lifting road and highway funding by around half. In addition, it underpins >$200bn of water, power and technology infrastructure," Deutsche Bank said.

"CRH is arguably the biggest beneficiary of this."