Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Granite Construction has a consensus “Hold” rating from six analysts, with two sell, one hold, two buy and one strong-buy recommendation. The average 12-month price target is $158.50.
• Shares opened at $125.49 after declining 2.2%, while the company’s latest quarterly results showed revenue rising 28.8% year over year to $1.46 billion but earnings per share of $2.16 missing estimates by $0.09.
• Granite declared a quarterly dividend of $0.13, equivalent to $0.52 annually and a 0.4% yield. Insider activity was mixed, with a director buying shares while a senior vice president sold 7,500 shares.

Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $158.50.

Several research analysts have weighed in on GVA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Granite Construction from $139.00 to $119.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Granite Construction from a "hold (c)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research raised shares of Granite Construction to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Stephens started coverage on shares of Granite Construction in a report on Friday, June 26th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Granite Construction from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th.

Granite Construction Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:GVA opened at $125.49 on Tuesday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $135.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.65. Granite Construction has a one year low of $97.26 and a one year high of $162.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a PE ratio of -29.12 and a beta of 1.33.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 negative net margin of 3.32% and a positive return on equity of 27.83%. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.42 EPS. Granite Construction's revenue was up 28.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Granite Construction will post 6.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Granite Construction's dividend payout ratio is presently -12.06%.

Insider Activity

In other Granite Construction news, Director Carlos M. Hernandez purchased 400 shares of Granite Construction stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $123.99 per share, for a total transaction of $49,596.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 5,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $624,041.67. This trade represents a 8.63% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael G. Tatusko sold 7,500 shares of the business'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 value of $1,057,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 29,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,199,967. This trade represents a 20.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 1,150 shares of company stock valued at $156,636. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Granite Construction

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GVA. NewEdge Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Granite Construction in the second quarter valued at $326,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Granite Construction during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,104,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Granite Construction during the 2nd quarter worth about $7,516,000. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Granite Construction in the 2nd quarter valued at about $563,000. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Granite Construction in the 2nd quarter valued at about $527,000.

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.

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source