Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Purchases New Holdings in Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA

Key Points

• Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co opened a new position in Granite Construction during Q3, buying 18,356 shares valued at about $2.01 million per its 13F filing.
• Other institutions also increased exposure—most notably Jupiter Asset Management raised its stake 282% to 218,836 shares (~$24.0 million), signaling growing institutional interest in GVA.
• Granite beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.40 vs. $1.34) with revenue up 19.2% year-over-year, announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13 (0.4% yield), and carries a MarketBeat consensus of “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $139.50.

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new position in shares of Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 18,356 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $2,013,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 34.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 52,636 shares of the construction company's stock worth $5,772,000 after purchasing an additional 13,574 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd lifted its position in Granite Construction by 20.5% during the third quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 4,401 shares of the construction company's stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the period. Choreo LLC grew its stake in Granite Construction by 115.0% during the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 7,156 shares of the construction company's stock worth $786,000 after buying an additional 3,827 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Granite Construction in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,016,000. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Granite Construction by 282.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 218,836 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $23,995,000 after buying an additional 161,554 shares during the period.

Granite Construction Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:GVA opened at $132.44 on Thursday. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 52-week low of $69.08 and a 52-week high of $137.24. The company has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a PE ratio of 36.19 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company has a fifty day moving average of $125.25 and a 200-day moving average of $113.73.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The construction company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Granite Construction had a return on equity of 24.10% and a net margin of 4.36%.The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. Granite Construction's quarterly revenue was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 5.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Granite Construction's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GVA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Granite Construction from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Granite Construction in a research report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Granite Construction from $109.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Zacks Research raised Granite Construction from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Granite Construction from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Granite Construction presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $139.50.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.