Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $142.74 and last traded at $141.7740, with a volume of 736336 shares. The stock had previously closed at $137.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on GVA shares. DA Davidson upped their price target on Granite Construction from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Granite Construction from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Granite Construction from $109.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Granite Construction from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $139.50.

Granite Construction Stock Up 3.1%

The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.86 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.24.

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

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Granite Construction's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Granite Construction

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

Institutional Trading of Granite Construction

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. 12th Street Asset Management Company LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Granite Construction during the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,799,000. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in Granite Construction by 41.5% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 38,809 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,255,000 after buying an additional 11,385 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC bought a new stake in Granite Construction in the fourth quarter worth $1,783,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC lifted its position in Granite Construction by 9.1% in the third quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 160,331 shares of the construction company's stock worth $17,580,000 after buying an additional 13,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new stake in Granite Construction in the third quarter worth $2,013,000.

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.

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