Fayez Sarofim & Co Buys New Shares in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. (NASDAQ:GLDD)

Fayez Sarofim & Co purchased a new stake in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. (NASDAQ:GLDD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 17,512 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,540,516 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $16,222,000 after purchasing an additional 13,010 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 338.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 106,642 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 82,344 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,561,897 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $16,450,000 after acquiring an additional 22,166 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 217.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 228,121 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,402,000 after acquiring an additional 156,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB acquired a new stake in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock during the 4th quarter valued at $452,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.11% of the company’s stock.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Price Performance

NASDAQ:GLDD opened at $8.60 on Wednesday. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. has a one year low of $6.55 and a one year high of $12.89. The company has a market cap of $579.30 million, a P/E ratio of 10.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $8.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $202.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.20 million. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 13.72%. Equities analysts expect that Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, March 14th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 8.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Great Lakes Dredge & Dock news, SVP Christopher Gunsten purchased 3,875 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $7.75 per share, with a total value of $30,031.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 61,532 shares in the company, valued at $476,873. The trade was a 6.72 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Great Lakes Dredge & Dock

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corp. engages in the provision of dredging services. Its projects include channel and port maintenance, channel deepening and port expansion, coastal protection and restoration, as well as land reclamation. The company was founded by William A. Lydon and Frederick C. Drews in 1890 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.