Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its stake in Granite Construction by 8.3% in the first quarter, and several other institutional investors also significantly boosted their holdings in the stock.
• Granite Construction reported strong quarterly results, posting earnings of $0.26 per share versus a loss estimate of $0.77 and revenue of $912.47 million, up 30.4% from a year earlier.
• The company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with an average target price of $161.00.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA - Free Report) by 8.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 287,744 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 22,162 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.66% of Granite Construction worth $34,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GVA. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Granite Construction by 262.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 647,589 shares of the construction company's stock worth $74,699,000 after acquiring an additional 469,079 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Granite Construction by 254.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 503,906 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $58,126,000 after acquiring an additional 361,741 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Granite Construction in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,405,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its position in shares of Granite Construction by 87.5% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 556,054 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $60,971,000 after purchasing an additional 259,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in shares of Granite Construction by 241.7% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 305,013 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $28,522,000 after purchasing an additional 215,752 shares in the last quarter.

Granite Construction Price Performance

GVA stock 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 one year low of $89.80 and a one year high of $162.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.44 billion, a PE ratio of 35.85 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $139.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $130.22.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA - Get Free Report) last released 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. Granite Construction had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. The business had revenue of $912.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $782.26 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.01 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 14.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Granite Construction news, SVP Michael G. Tatusko sold 7,500 shares of Granite Construction stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 29,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,199,967. The trade was a 20.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bradley Jay Williams sold 6,734 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 $949,494.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $992,781. This trade represents a 48.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on GVA shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Granite Construction from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Granite Construction from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Granite Construction in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research raised Granite Construction to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on Granite Construction in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Granite Construction has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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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