Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA Stock Holdings Lessened by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC sharply reduced its Granite Construction stake by 85.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 126,483 shares and leaving it with 21,824 shares worth about $2.53 million.
• Analyst sentiment was mixed but leaned cautious: Goldman Sachs reiterated a sell rating and cut its price target to $139, while another analyst also downgraded the stock. Still, Oppenheimer maintained an outperform rating with a $170 target, and the overall consensus remains Moderate Buy.
• Granite Construction reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $0.26 versus an expected loss and revenue of $912.47 million, up 30.4% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, payable July 15.

Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its stake in shares of Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA - Free Report) by 85.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,824 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 126,483 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.05% of Granite Construction worth $2,526,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC bought a new stake in Granite Construction in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,783,000. Leuthold Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 1,591.8% during the 4th quarter. Leuthold Group LLC now owns 45,223 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,216,000 after purchasing an additional 42,550 shares in the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 160,331 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $17,580,000 after purchasing an additional 13,401 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 574.6% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 15,886 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,832,000 after purchasing an additional 13,531 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cartenna Capital LP boosted its holdings in Granite Construction by 22.0% in the third quarter. Cartenna Capital LP now owns 610,000 shares of the construction company's stock worth $66,886,000 after purchasing an additional 110,000 shares in the last quarter.

Key Stories Impacting Granite Construction

Here are the key news stories impacting Granite Construction this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs reiterated a sell rating on Granite Construction and lowered its price target to $139 from $141, signaling limited upside and a more cautious view on the company’s near-term prospects.
• Negative Sentiment: Granite Construction was also downgraded by another analyst, adding to the pressure on the stock and reinforcing concerns about the infrastructure outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: The company announced redemption of its 2028 convertible notes, a balance-sheet event that should reduce future debt obligations but is unlikely to be the main driver of trading today. Granite Construction Announces Redemption of 2028 Convertible Notes

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Bradley Jay Williams sold 6,734 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $949,494.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,041 shares in the company, valued at $992,781. The trade was a 48.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John Timothy Romer acquired 375 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $143.65 per share, for a total transaction of $53,868.75. Following the purchase, the director owned 2,801 shares of the company's stock, valued at $402,363.65. The trade was a 15.46% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Granite Construction Stock Performance

Shares of GVA opened at $122.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a PE ratio of 35.43 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Granite Construction Incorporated has a one year low of $89.80 and a one year high of $162.08. The company's fifty day moving average price is $141.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.07.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.77) by $1.03. The company had revenue of $912.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $782.26 million. Granite Construction had a return on equity of 24.90% and a net margin of 3.99%.The firm's revenue 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. As a group, analysts expect that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 14.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GVA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Granite Construction from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $139.00 price target (down from $141.00) on shares of Granite Construction in a research note on Thursday. Zacks Research raised Granite Construction to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Granite Construction from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Granite Construction in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.00.

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.

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