Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA Shares Sold by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Hennessy Advisors trimmed its stake in Granite Construction by 5.3%, selling 20,600 shares and leaving it with 370,300 shares (about 0.85% of the company) valued at roughly $42.7 million, making GVA its 17th-largest holding.
• Insiders sold stock: CFO Staci Woolsey and CEO Kyle Larkin disposed of shares in March, and insiders have sold 35,488 shares (~$4.21M) in the past 90 days, reducing insider ownership to about 1%.
• Operational and market outlook: Granite beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.40 vs. $1.34) with revenue up 19.2% year-over-year; analysts rate the stock a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target of $139.50, while the company has a $5.43B market cap and a 0.4% dividend yield.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 370,300 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 20,600 shares during the quarter. Granite Construction accounts for about 1.5% of Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned 0.85% of Granite Construction worth $42,714,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GVA. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Granite Construction by 73.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 21,379 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,612,000 after acquiring an additional 9,038 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in Granite Construction in the first quarter valued at $207,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Granite Construction by 21.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 168,859 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $12,732,000 after buying an additional 29,428 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Granite Construction by 2,423.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 89,882 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $8,405,000 after buying an additional 86,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in Granite Construction in the second quarter valued at $229,000.

Granite Construction Stock Up 0.5%

GVA stock opened at $124.90 on Monday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $126.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a PE ratio of 34.12 and a beta of 1.30. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 12 month low of $74.36 and a 12 month high of $137.24.

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

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Staci M. Woolsey sold 1,523 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.84, for a total value of $182,516.32. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,954 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,271,447.36. This trade represents a 7.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle T. Larkin sold 26,651 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $3,148,016.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 114,881 shares in the company, valued at $13,569,743.72. This represents a 18.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,488 shares of company stock valued at $4,207,042. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GVA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA - Free Report).

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.