Noble Financial Downgrades Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD) to Market Perform

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD) was downgraded by equities researchers at Noble Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on GLDD. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Great Lakes Dredge & Dock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Stock Performance

GLDD stock opened at $16.89 on Thursday. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock has a twelve month low of $7.51 and a twelve month high of $16.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.42. The business’s fifty day moving average is $14.35 and its 200-day moving average is $12.69.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP David Johanson sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.96, for a total value of $29,316.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 91,963 shares in the company, valued at $1,283,803.48. The trade was a 2.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Great Lakes Dredge & Dock

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Walleye Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 198.9% during the 4th quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 206,215 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,706,000 after acquiring an additional 137,215 shares in the last quarter. PCM Encore LLC acquired a new position in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock during the fourth quarter worth $322,000. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock in the fourth quarter valued at $204,000. Martingale Asset Management L P acquired a new stake in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock in the 4th quarter valued at $955,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 84,767 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after buying an additional 23,050 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.11% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Great Lakes Dredge & Dock

Here are the key news stories impacting Great Lakes Dredge & Dock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Saltchuk agreed to acquire GLDD in an all-cash transaction (reported value around $1.2–$1.5B). The deal explains the recent sharp upward move as buyers price in the acquisition premium and certainty of a cash sale. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually large options trading was detected ahead of and around the deal announcement, signaling elevated speculative or hedge activity that can amplify intraday volatility. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and commentators note GLDD’s strong backlog and elevated dredging demand ahead of Q4 earnings, but potential margin pressure from dry-docking costs could temper organic upside if investors refocus on fundamentals. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reports in recent filings contain inconsistent data (reports show 0 shares and NaN changes), so short-position signals are unclear; treat short-interest metrics with caution until corrected filings are available.
• Negative Sentiment: A shareholder rights firm launched an investigation into whether the board breached fiduciary duties in connection with the proposed sale, creating potential legal/transaction risk and a drag on sentiment until the matter is resolved. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Two brokerages downgraded GLDD (Texas Capital: strong-buy → hold; Noble Financial: outperform → market perform), which can weigh on near-term momentum and reduce buy-side conviction despite the takeover. Read More. • Read More.

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.