Vestcor Inc Buys Shares of 3,581 Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc has acquired a new position in Granite Construction, purchasing 3,581 shares valued at approximately $270,000 during the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds, including Millennium Management and First Trust Advisors, have significantly increased their holdings in Granite Construction during the fourth quarter.
• Goldman Sachs has raised Granite Construction's target price from $69.00 to $76.00, maintaining a "sell" rating for the stock.

Vestcor Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,581 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $270,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GVA. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Granite Construction in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 214.2% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 377 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in Granite Construction by 68.4% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 325 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its position in shares of Granite Construction by 80.3% during the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 640 shares of the construction company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Granite Construction by 26.5% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 674 shares of the construction company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Brian R. Dowd sold 2,025 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.76, for a total value of $185,814.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 18,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,726,831.44. The trade was a 9.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

Granite Construction Stock Up 4.4%

NYSE GVA traded up $4.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $105.37. 585,812 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 616,310. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 12-month low of $67.92 and a 12-month high of $107.66. The firm has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.90 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $92.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.34.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The construction company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.16. Granite Construction had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.40%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.16 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.73 EPS. Granite Construction's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 5.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Granite Construction's payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Granite Construction from $69.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th.

Granite Construction Profile

Granite Construction Incorporated operates as an infrastructure contractor in the United States. It operates through two segments: Construction and Materials segments. The Construction segment engages in the construction and rehabilitation of roads, pavement preservation, bridges, rail lines, airports, marine ports, dams, reservoirs, aqueducts, infrastructure, and site development for use by the public and water-related construction for municipal agencies, commercial water suppliers, industrial facilities, and energy companies; and construction of various complex projects, including infrastructure/site development, mining, public safety, tunnel, solar storage, and power related projects.