Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $161.00.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $139.00 target price (down from $141.00) on shares of Granite Construction in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Granite Construction from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Granite Construction from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Granite Construction in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on Granite Construction in a report on Friday, June 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Granite Construction

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

Institutional Trading of Granite Construction

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in Granite Construction by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 6,378 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $736,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 381 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Granite Construction by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $572,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Granite Construction by 4.5% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,813 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Granite Construction by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,978 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $575,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period.

Granite Construction Stock Up 0.9%

GVA stock opened at $125.70 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $139.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $130.26. 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 company has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a PE ratio of 36.22 and a beta of 1.29. Granite Construction has a twelve month low of $89.80 and a twelve 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.77) by $1.03. The firm had revenue of $912.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $782.26 million. Granite Construction had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.01 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Granite Construction will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Granite Construction’s payout ratio is currently 14.99%.

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.