William Blair Investment Management LLC Acquires Shares of 136,935 Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA

William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 136,935 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,647,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.31% of Granite Construction as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GVA. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Granite Construction by 52.8% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,397,573 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $167,541,000 after purchasing an additional 483,080 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 262.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 647,589 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $74,699,000 after buying an additional 469,079 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Granite Construction by 254.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 503,906 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $58,126,000 after acquiring an additional 361,741 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Granite Construction in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,405,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in Granite Construction by 87.5% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 556,054 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $60,971,000 after purchasing an additional 259,477 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on GVA shares. Zacks Research upgraded Granite Construction to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Granite Construction from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded Granite Construction from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Granite Construction in a report on Friday, June 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.50.

Granite Construction Price Performance

Granite Construction stock opened at $124.08 on Friday. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 52 week low of $97.26 and a 52 week high of $162.08. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $132.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The stock has a market cap of $5.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.79 and a beta of 1.33.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. Granite Construction had a positive return on equity of 27.83% and a negative net margin of 3.32%.Granite Construction’s quarterly revenue was up 28.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Granite Construction’s payout ratio is currently -12.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Bradley Jay Williams sold 6,734 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $949,494.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $992,781. This trade represents a 48.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Carlos M. Hernandez bought 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $123.99 per share, for a total transaction of $49,596.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $624,041.67. This trade represents a 8.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought 1,150 shares of company stock worth $156,636 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

About Granite Construction

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.