Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) Shares Up 8.9% After Earnings Beat

Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA)’s stock price traded up 8.9% during trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $122.20 and last traded at $121.6140. 306,318 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 716,495 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.67.

The construction company reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.54. Granite Construction had a negative net margin of 3.32% and a positive return on equity of 27.83%. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Granite Construction’s payout ratio is presently -12.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on GVA shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Granite Construction from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Granite Construction from $139.00 to $119.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Granite Construction from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Granite Construction from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $158.50.

Insider Activity at Granite Construction

In related news, Director Carlos M. Hernandez bought 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $123.99 per share, with a total value of $49,596.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 5,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $624,041.67. This trade represents a 8.63% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Trust Advisors LP boosted 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 during the period. Hill City Capital LP acquired a new position in Granite Construction during the second quarter worth $175,508,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,067,545 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $127,969,000 after purchasing an additional 4,327 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Granite Construction by 8.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 287,744 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $34,495,000 after buying an additional 22,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in Granite Construction by 39.0% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 228,163 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,068,000 after purchasing an additional 64,007 shares during the last quarter.

Granite Construction Stock Up 8.9%

The firm has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.21 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $115.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.39.

Granite Construction Company Profile

Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) is an infrastructure construction company that provides engineering, construction and rehabilitation services for public and private-sector clients. The company’s work supports transportation, water and other essential infrastructure projects across the United States.

Granite’s transportation activities include the construction and maintenance of highways, roads, bridges, airports, rail systems and other transit facilities. Its water-related services include the development and improvement of water treatment and distribution systems, wastewater facilities, dams, pipelines and related infrastructure.