Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $119.74 and last traded at $118.35, with a volume of 481153 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $118.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GVA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research cut Granite Construction from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Granite Construction in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $109.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Granite Construction from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Granite Construction in a research report on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Granite Construction from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.50.

Granite Construction Stock Down 1.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.21. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.65 and a beta of 1.33.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The construction company reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.14. Granite Construction had a net margin of 4.31% and a return on equity of 24.04%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.05 earnings per share. Granite Construction’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 5.49 EPS for the current year.

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Granite Construction’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.99%.

Insider Transactions at Granite Construction

In other Granite Construction news, Director Celeste Beeks Mastin sold 7,614 shares of Granite Construction stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.23, for a total value of $801,221.22. Following the sale, the director owned 10,206 shares in the company, valued at $1,073,977.38. The trade was a 42.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Granite Construction

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Granite Construction in the third quarter valued at about $213,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Granite Construction in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $512,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Granite Construction during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Caxton Associates LLP increased its holdings in Granite Construction by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 21,390 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,345,000 after purchasing an additional 3,788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Granite Construction in the third quarter valued at approximately $313,000.

Granite Construction Company Profile

Granite Construction Inc is a publicly traded heavy civil contractor and construction materials producer based in Watsonville, California. The company specializes in delivering large-scale infrastructure projects for government and private clients, focusing on the development, rehabilitation and maintenance of transportation, water resource and industrial facilities. Its turnkey solutions span the full project lifecycle, from preconstruction and design-build to construction management and facilities maintenance.

In its construction segment, Granite undertakes highway and bridge building, airport runway and taxiway construction, marine terminal and port improvements, dam and reservoir projects, transit systems and underground utilities.