Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Shares of Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $148.58 and last traded at $148.0420, with a volume of 24503 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $146.67.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on GVA shares. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Granite Construction in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Granite Construction from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen cut Granite Construction from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Granite Construction to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $149.67.

Granite Construction Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $134.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.40. The stock has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.19 and a beta of 1.32.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.77) by $1.03. Granite Construction had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. The firm had revenue of $912.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $782.26 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.01 earnings per share. Granite Construction’s revenue was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 6.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Granite Construction’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.99%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Bradley Jay Williams sold 6,734 shares of Granite Construction stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $949,494.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $992,781. The trade was a 48.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Michael G. Tatusko sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,057,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 29,787 shares in the company, valued at $4,199,967. This represents a 20.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 40,885 shares of company stock worth $5,155,010 in the last 90 days. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Granite Construction

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Granite Construction during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Granite Construction in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 30.9% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 381 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Granite Construction in the 4th quarter valued at $56,000.

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.