Entropy Technologies LP Boosts Stake in Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA)

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP increased its stake in Granite Construction by 34.5% in Q1, now owning 27,642 shares valued at approximately $2.08 million.
• Equities analysts have shown a positive shift, with Wall Street Zen upgrading Granite Construction from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, and Goldman Sachs raising the target price from $69.00 to $76.00.
• Granite Construction recently reported an EPS of $1.93 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, but revenue fell slightly below expectations, with a total of $1.13 billion.

Entropy Technologies LP raised its position in Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA - Free Report) by 34.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,642 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,091 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP owned 0.06% of Granite Construction worth $2,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in Granite Construction in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Granite Construction by 214.2% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 377 shares of the construction company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its position in Granite Construction by 68.4% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 325 shares of the construction company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC increased 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 period. Finally, CWM LLC increased 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 period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Granite Construction from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Granite Construction from $69.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th.

Granite Construction Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GVA opened at $106.04 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a PE ratio of 34.65 and a beta of 1.39. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $92.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.31. Granite Construction Incorporated has a one year low of $67.92 and a one year high of $107.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. Granite Construction had a net margin of 3.89% and a return on equity of 21.64%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.73 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 5.49 EPS for the current year.

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.67%.

Insider Transactions at Granite Construction

In related news, SVP Brian R. Dowd sold 2,025 shares of Granite Construction stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.76, for a total transaction of $185,814.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 18,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,726,831.44. This trade represents a 9.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Granite Construction

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.

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