Leuthold Group LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA

Key Points

• Leuthold Group LLC dramatically increased its Granite Construction stake by 1,591.8% in the fourth quarter, ending with 45,223 shares worth about $5.2 million.
• Granite Construction reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.26 versus expectations for a loss and revenue of $912.47 million, up 30.4% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the stock’s consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $139.50, while recent insider sales included CEO Kyle T. Larkin and CFO Staci M. Woolsey reducing their holdings.

Leuthold Group LLC raised its position in Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA - Free Report) by 1,591.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,223 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 42,550 shares during the quarter. Leuthold Group LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Granite Construction worth $5,216,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Granite Construction by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 10,031 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,157,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 20,951 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Granite Construction during the fourth quarter worth $56,000. R Squared Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 4,874 shares of the construction company's stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Granite Construction during the fourth quarter worth $341,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GVA shares. Wall Street Zen raised Granite Construction from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Granite Construction from $109.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Granite Construction from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on Granite Construction from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $139.50.

Granite Construction Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE:GVA opened at $138.78 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $126.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.99 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 1 year low of $84.45 and a 1 year high of $145.00.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.77) by $1.03. The firm had revenue of $912.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $782.26 million. Granite Construction had a return on equity of 24.90% and a net margin of 3.99%.Granite Construction's revenue was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.01 earnings per share.

Insider Buying and Selling at Granite Construction

In other Granite Construction news, CEO Kyle T. Larkin sold 26,651 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total value of $3,148,016.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 114,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,569,743.72. This represents a 18.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Staci M. Woolsey sold 1,523 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.84, for a total value of $182,516.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,954 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,271,447.36. The trade was a 7.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 35,488 shares of company stock valued at $4,207,042 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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