Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stake in Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 216,837 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,737 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.50% of Granite Construction worth $16,350,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GVA. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Granite Construction in the fourth quarter worth about $31,855,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Granite Construction by 35.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,131,419 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $99,237,000 after acquiring an additional 294,200 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Granite Construction by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,651,676 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $232,579,000 after acquiring an additional 263,302 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 1,058.0% during the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 214,777 shares of the construction company's stock worth $18,838,000 after buying an additional 196,229 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 7,509.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 165,729 shares of the construction company's stock worth $12,496,000 after buying an additional 163,551 shares during the period.

Granite Construction Price Performance

Shares of GVA traded down $0.58 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $93.54. 325,435 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 635,409. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.57. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $89.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.70. The company has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.97 and a beta of 1.32. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 12-month low of $62.77 and a 12-month high of $105.20.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The construction company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by $0.44. Granite Construction had a return on equity of 21.40% and a net margin of 3.07%. The company had revenue of $699.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $706.15 million. Granite Construction's revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 5.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Granite Construction's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Granite Construction from $69.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Granite Construction

In related news, CEO Kyle T. Larkin sold 3,617 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total transaction of $290,734.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 132,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,639,579.08. This represents a 2.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brian R. Dowd sold 2,025 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.76, for a total value of $185,814.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 18,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,726,831.44. The trade was a 9.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,432 shares of company stock worth $699,804. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

About Granite Construction

Granite Construction Incorporated operates as an infrastructure contractor in the United States. It operates through two segments: Construction and Materials segments. The Construction segment engages in the construction and rehabilitation of roads, pavement preservation, bridges, rail lines, airports, marine ports, dams, reservoirs, aqueducts, infrastructure, and site development for use by the public and water-related construction for municipal agencies, commercial water suppliers, industrial facilities, and energy companies; and construction of various complex projects, including infrastructure/site development, mining, public safety, tunnel, solar storage, and power related projects.