Kyle Larkin Sells 26,651 Shares of Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) Stock

Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) CEO Kyle Larkin sold 26,651 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $3,148,016.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 114,881 shares in the company, valued at $13,569,743.72. This represents a 18.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Granite Construction Price Performance

Granite Construction stock traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $122.23. 62,422 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 642,826. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 12-month low of $69.08 and a 12-month high of $137.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $125.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $115.53. The company has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.30 and a beta of 1.30.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The construction company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. Granite Construction had a net margin of 4.36% and a return on equity of 24.10%. The business’s revenue was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 5.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Granite Construction’s dividend payout ratio is 14.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GVA shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Granite Construction in a research report on Monday, December 29th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Granite Construction from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Granite Construction from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Granite Construction from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Granite Construction from $109.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $139.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Granite Construction

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GVA. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its position in Granite Construction by 512.8% in the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 239 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Granite Construction during the third quarter worth $26,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Granite Construction during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Granite Construction during the third quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Granite Construction in the fourth quarter worth about $46,000.

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.