AlphaQuest LLC Sells 10,399 Shares of Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC reduced its Granite Construction stake by 26.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 10,399 shares and leaving it with 28,410 shares valued at about $3.28 million.
• Insider selling was notable, with CFO Staci M. Woolsey and CEO Kyle T. Larkin both selling shares in recent transactions; insiders sold 35,488 shares total over the last quarter.
• Granite Construction reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, posting EPS of $0.26 versus an expected loss and revenue of $912.47 million, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a $139.50 target price.

AlphaQuest LLC cut its holdings in Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA - Free Report) by 26.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,410 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 10,399 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Granite Construction worth $3,277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GVA. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,602,382 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $175,701,000 after purchasing an additional 131,360 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP grew its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 569.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP now owns 1,339,818 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $151,064,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139,818 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in Granite Construction by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 861,770 shares of the construction company's stock worth $94,493,000 after purchasing an additional 94,902 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Granite Construction by 262.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 647,589 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $74,699,000 after purchasing an additional 469,079 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cartenna Capital LP lifted its stake in Granite Construction by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cartenna Capital LP now owns 610,000 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $66,886,000 after purchasing an additional 110,000 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Granite Construction

In other news, CFO Staci M. Woolsey sold 1,523 shares of Granite Construction stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.84, for a total value of $182,516.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,954 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,271,447.36. This trade represents a 7.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kyle T. Larkin sold 26,651 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total value of $3,148,016.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 114,881 shares in the company, valued at $13,569,743.72. The trade was a 18.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,488 shares of company stock valued at $4,207,042. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Granite Construction Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:GVA opened at $130.06 on Tuesday. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 52 week low of $85.01 and a 52 week high of $145.00. 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 fifty day moving average is $127.23 and its 200-day moving average is $121.51. The firm has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.48 and a beta of 1.35.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.77) by $1.03. The business had revenue of $912.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $782.26 million. Granite Construction had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. Granite Construction's quarterly revenue was up 30.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.01 earnings per share.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Granite Construction from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Granite Construction from $109.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Granite Construction from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Granite Construction from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $139.50.

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.

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