Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (NASDAQ:GLDD)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $15.41 and last traded at $15.3980, with a volume of 1211063 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research lowered Great Lakes Dredge & Dock from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, CJS Securities upgraded shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $13.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.07. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.40.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The construction company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $195.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $201.30 million. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 9.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Great Lakes Dredge & Dock

In related news, SVP David Johanson sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.96, for a total value of $29,316.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 91,963 shares in the company, valued at $1,283,803.48. This trade represents a 2.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Great Lakes Dredge & Dock

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 105,846 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,389,000 after purchasing an additional 13,414 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 888,739 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $10,656,000 after buying an additional 99,463 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 34.1% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 221,743 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,659,000 after buying an additional 56,427 shares during the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock during the third quarter valued at $141,000. Finally, Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock in the third quarter worth $191,000. Institutional investors own 89.11% of the company’s stock.

About Great Lakes Dredge & Dock

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (NASDAQ: GLDD) is a leading provider of dredging and maritime construction services in the United States. The company specializes in the excavation and removal of sediment from waterways, harbors, ports and coastal areas to maintain navigability and support commercial shipping. Its operations encompass both maintenance dredging—removing accumulated material to restore channel depth—and new work projects such as land reclamation and harbor deepening.

In addition to traditional dredging, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock offers a range of complementary marine construction services.