Fifth Third Bancorp Purchases 65,675 Shares of Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp dramatically increased its stake in Granite Construction during the first quarter, buying 65,675 additional shares and boosting its position by 22,963.3% to 65,961 shares worth about $7.9 million.
• Granite Construction posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results, reporting $0.26 EPS versus an expected loss and revenue of $912.5 million, up 30.4% year over year. Analysts now expect the company to earn 6.14 EPS for the current year.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed but generally constructive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161. Several firms have set bullish targets, though Goldman Sachs still maintains a sell rating with a $139 target.

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA - Free Report) by 22,963.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,961 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 65,675 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp owned approximately 0.15% of Granite Construction worth $7,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its position in Granite Construction by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 6,378 shares of the construction company's stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 381 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,813 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Granite Construction by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,978 shares of the construction company's stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of Granite Construction by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 22,224 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,563,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period.

Granite Construction Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE GVA opened at $124.42 on Thursday. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 52-week low of $89.80 and a 52-week high of $162.08. 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 stock has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.86 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $140.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.22.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.77) by $1.03. The company had revenue of $912.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $782.26 million. Granite Construction had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.01 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 6.14 EPS for the current year.

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Granite Construction's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Bradley Jay Williams sold 6,734 shares of the firm'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 sale, the senior vice president owned 7,041 shares of the company's stock, valued at $992,781. This trade represents a 48.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Timothy Romer acquired 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $143.65 per share, for a total transaction of $53,868.75. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,801 shares in the company, valued at $402,363.65. This represents a 15.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on GVA shares. Stephens started coverage on shares of Granite Construction in a report on Friday, June 26th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Granite Construction from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Granite Construction to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Granite Construction in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "sell" rating and issued a $139.00 price target (down from $141.00) on shares of Granite Construction in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One equities 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 given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Granite Construction presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.00.

Granite Construction Company 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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