Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Buys New Shares in Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA

Key Points

• Arrowstreet Capital acquired 213,226 Granite Construction shares in the first quarter, worth approximately $25.6 million and representing about 0.49% of the company. Several other institutional investors also increased their positions.
• Granite Construction reported quarterly results that exceeded expectations, with earnings of $0.26 per share versus a projected loss of $0.77 and revenue of $912.5 million, up 30.4% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average $161 price target. The company also pays a $0.13 quarterly dividend, while two senior vice presidents recently sold shares at $141 each.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 213,226 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $25,562,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.49% of Granite Construction at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GVA. Caxton Associates LLP lifted its stake in Granite Construction by 9.7% in the first quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 24,928 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,988,000 after acquiring an additional 2,195 shares during the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Granite Construction in the 1st quarter valued at $654,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Granite Construction by 70.1% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 77,776 shares of the construction company's stock worth $9,324,000 after purchasing an additional 32,061 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Granite Construction by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 3,961 shares of the construction company's stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 4.8% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,325 shares of the construction company's stock worth $638,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Granite Construction news, SVP Bradley Jay Williams sold 6,734 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 represents a 48.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael G. Tatusko sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,057,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 29,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,199,967. The trade was a 20.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GVA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut Granite Construction from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $139.00 price objective (down from $141.00) on shares of Granite Construction in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered Granite Construction from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Stephens initiated coverage on Granite Construction in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Granite Construction to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $161.00.

Granite Construction Trading Down 3.1%

GVA opened at $117.53 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.87 and a beta of 1.29. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 52 week low of $89.80 and a 52 week high of $162.08. The business's 50 day moving average is $137.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.77) by $1.03. The company had revenue of $912.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $782.26 million. Granite Construction had a return on equity of 24.90% and a net margin of 3.99%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 30.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.01 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 6.14 EPS for the current year.

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Granite Construction's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.99%.

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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