Is Now the Time to Buy This Building Materials Supplier? – CRH PLC (UK) (CRH)

That said, CRH PLC (UK) (LON:CRH) also reported that profits at its North American division grew by 45%, which offset the majority of the European decline.

Furthermore, CRH PLC (UK) (LON:CRH) is focused on streamlining its business and, during 2012, sold assets for 900 million euros, which helped the company reduce its net debt by 500 million euros. CRH’s net debt now stands at 3 billion euros.

Nonetheless, I still believe CRH is overvalued. You see, CRH’s projected P/E of 21 is the type of rating more often assigned to high-growth technology companies than to suppliers of building materials. Indeed, on a historic basis, CRH’s projected P/E ratio is significantly above the P/E ratio of 15 that the company was trading at back in 2007, at the height of the housing bubble.

So overall, despite CRH’s growth in North America, the shares currently look too expensive, and I think now does not look to be a good time to buy CRH at 1,514 pence.

The article Is Now the Time to Buy This Building Materials Supplier? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Rupert Hargreaves.

Fool contributor Rupert Hargreaves and The Motley Fool have no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

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