Systematic Financial Management LP Has $62.97 Million Holdings in Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA

Key Points

• Systematic Financial Management LP trimmed its Granite Construction stake by 2.0% in the first quarter, but still held 525,292 shares valued at about $62.97 million, making GVA its 8th largest holding.
• Granite Construction reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.26 versus an expected loss and revenue of $912.47 million, up 30.4% year over year.
• Analysts remain generally constructive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $161, even as recent ratings have been mixed and one insider sale was offset by a director purchase.

Systematic Financial Management LP lowered its position in Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 525,292 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 10,597 shares during the quarter. Granite Construction comprises approximately 1.4% of Systematic Financial Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Systematic Financial Management LP owned 1.20% of Granite Construction worth $62,972,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Granite Construction by 73.2% in the 1st 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 during the period. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in Granite Construction during the 1st quarter valued at $207,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Granite Construction by 21.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 168,859 shares of the construction company's stock worth $12,732,000 after acquiring an additional 29,428 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Granite Construction by 2,423.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 89,882 shares of the construction company's stock worth $8,405,000 after acquiring an additional 86,320 shares during the period. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in shares of Granite Construction in the second quarter worth $229,000.

Granite Construction Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of GVA stock opened at $126.33 on Friday. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 1 year low of $89.80 and a 1 year high of $162.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. The business's fifty day moving average is $138.26 and its 200-day moving average is $130.54. The stock has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 36.41 and a beta of 1.29.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.77) by $1.03. Granite Construction had a return on equity of 24.90% and a net margin of 3.99%.The business had revenue of $912.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $782.26 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.01 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 30.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Granite Construction's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GVA. Zacks Research raised Granite Construction to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. 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 target price for the company. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Granite Construction in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Granite Construction from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Granite Construction from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $161.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Granite Construction

In related news, SVP Bradley Jay Williams sold 6,734 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $949,494.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John Timothy Romer bought 375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $143.65 per share, for a total transaction of $53,868.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,363.65. This represents a 15.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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.