Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA Shares Acquired by California State Teachers Retirement System

California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) by 25.0% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 52,374 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,484 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Granite Construction were worth $6,279,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Granite Construction during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,160,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 39.1% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,405 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,367,000 after purchasing an additional 3,207 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Granite Construction in the first quarter valued at approximately $473,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Granite Construction during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,562,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP increased its position in Granite Construction by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 24,928 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,988,000 after acquiring an additional 2,195 shares during the period.

Granite Construction Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GVA opened at $123.85 on Thursday. Granite Construction Incorporated has a twelve month low of $93.31 and a twelve month high of $162.08. 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 of $136.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $130.57. The company has a market capitalization of $5.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.74 and a beta of 1.33.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.25 by ($0.09). Granite Construction had a positive return on equity of 27.83% and a negative net margin of 3.32%.The business had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Granite Construction’s dividend payout ratio is -12.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GVA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Granite Construction from $139.00 to $119.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Granite Construction from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Granite Construction in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Granite Construction to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Granite Construction from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Granite Construction has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.50.

Insider Transactions at Granite Construction

In related news, SVP Bradley Jay Williams sold 6,734 shares of Granite Construction 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 directly owned 7,041 shares in the company, valued at $992,781. The trade was a 48.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michael G. Tatusko sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,057,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 29,787 shares in the company, valued at $4,199,967. This trade represents a 20.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.