Hill City Capital LP Acquires Shares of 1,110,248 Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA

Key Points

• Hill City Capital acquired 1.11 million Granite Construction shares worth approximately $175.5 million, giving it a 2.54% stake and making GVA about 4.5% of the fund’s portfolio.
• Other institutional investors also increased their positions, while insider activity was mixed: a director purchased shares, but a senior vice president sold 7,500 shares.
• Granite Construction’s quarterly revenue rose 28.8% year over year to $1.46 billion, though earnings per share of $2.16 missed estimates. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $158.50.

Hill City Capital LP acquired a new stake in Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,110,248 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $175,508,000. Granite Construction comprises approximately 4.5% of Hill City Capital LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Hill City Capital LP owned approximately 2.54% of Granite Construction at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Granite Construction by 52.8% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,397,573 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $167,541,000 after purchasing an additional 483,080 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 469,079 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Granite Construction by 254.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 503,906 shares of the construction company's stock worth $58,126,000 after buying an additional 361,741 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Granite Construction during the fourth quarter valued at $36,405,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in Granite Construction by 87.5% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 556,054 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $60,971,000 after acquiring an additional 259,477 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other Granite Construction news, Director Carlos M. Hernandez bought 400 shares of Granite Construction stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $123.99 per share, with a total value of $49,596.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $624,041.67. This represents a 8.63% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Michael G. Tatusko sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,057,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 29,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,199,967. This trade represents a 20.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have purchased 1,150 shares of company stock valued at $156,636 in the last ninety days. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Granite Construction Stock Performance

Shares of Granite Construction stock opened at $124.08 on Monday. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 12 month low of $97.26 and a 12 month high of $162.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market cap of $5.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.79 and a beta of 1.33. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $132.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.93.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.25 by ($0.09). Granite Construction had a positive return on equity of 27.83% and a negative net margin of 3.32%.The business had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.42 EPS. Granite Construction's revenue for the quarter was up 28.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Granite Construction's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -12.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GVA. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Granite Construction from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Granite Construction from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Granite Construction in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Granite Construction to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Granite Construction from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Granite Construction currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $158.50.

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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