Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) Stock Rating Upgraded by Stephens

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) was upgraded by analysts at Stephens to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

GVA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Granite Construction from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Granite Construction in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research raised Granite Construction to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Granite Construction from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Granite Construction currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $157.25.

Granite Construction Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NYSE GVA opened at $160.44 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $7.02 billion, a PE ratio of 46.24 and a beta of 1.32. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $137.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.90. Granite Construction has a 12-month low of $89.80 and a 12-month high of $162.08.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.77) by $1.03. Granite Construction had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. The firm had revenue of $912.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $782.26 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Granite Construction will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Granite Construction

In related news, SVP Bradley Jay Williams sold 6,734 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $949,494.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $992,781. This represents a 48.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Michael G. Tatusko sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,057,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 29,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,199,967. This trade represents a 20.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Granite Construction

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GVA. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Granite Construction by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,602,382 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $175,701,000 after buying an additional 131,360 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 52.8% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,397,573 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $167,541,000 after acquiring an additional 483,080 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP grew its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 569.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP now owns 1,339,818 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $151,064,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139,818 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Granite Construction by 0.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,067,545 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $127,969,000 after acquiring an additional 4,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Granite Construction by 12.4% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 861,770 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $94,493,000 after acquiring an additional 94,902 shares during the period.

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.