D.A. Davidson & CO. Lowers Stake in Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA

Key Points

• D.A. Davidson & Co. cut its Granite Construction stake by 25.7% in the first quarter, leaving it with 40,988 shares worth about $4.9 million.
• Granite Construction posted a strong quarterly report, with EPS of $0.26 versus expectations for a loss and revenue of $912.47 million, up 30.4% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally cautious: the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating, though recent calls included a downgrade to hold and Goldman Sachs reiterating a sell rating.

D.A. Davidson & CO. reduced its position in Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA - Free Report) by 25.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,988 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 14,155 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. owned approximately 0.09% of Granite Construction worth $4,914,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its position in shares of Granite Construction by 512.8% during 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 period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Granite Construction in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Granite Construction in the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Granite Construction by 30.9% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 381 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in Granite Construction during the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GVA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Granite Construction to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating and set a $139.00 target price (down from $141.00) on shares of Granite Construction in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen cut Granite Construction from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Granite Construction in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Granite Construction from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $161.00.

Granite Construction Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GVA opened at $124.41 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 12 month low of $89.80 and a 12 month high of $162.08. The company has a market capitalization of $5.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.85 and a beta of 1.29. The firm's 50-day moving average is $139.59 and its 200 day moving average is $130.22.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.77) by $1.03. The business had revenue of $912.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $782.26 million. Granite Construction had a return on equity of 24.90% and a net margin of 3.99%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.01 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 6.14 EPS for the current year.

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.13 dividend. 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 (DPR) is presently 14.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael G. Tatusko sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $1,057,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 29,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,199,967. The trade was a 20.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Bradley Jay Williams sold 6,734 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $992,781. The trade was a 48.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Granite Construction Profile

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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