Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) Raised to Strong-Buy at Stephens

Key Points

• Stephens upgraded Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) to "strong-buy", adding to a mostly positive analyst backdrop. The stock now carries an average rating of Moderate Buy with an average target price of $157.25.
• Granite Construction shares were up 2.4% and opened at $160.44, near their 52-week high of $162.08. The company also trades above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• The company delivered a strong quarterly beat, reporting $0.26 EPS versus expectations for a loss and revenue of $912.47 million versus estimates of $782.26 million. Revenue rose 30.4% year over year, though two senior vice presidents recently sold shares.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Stephens to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on GVA. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Granite Construction in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Granite Construction from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Zacks Research raised Granite Construction to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Granite Construction from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $157.25.

Granite Construction Stock Up 2.4%

NYSE:GVA opened at $160.44 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $137.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Granite Construction has a one year low of $89.80 and a one year high of $162.08. The company has a market cap of $7.02 billion, a PE ratio of 46.24 and a beta of 1.32.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.77) by $1.03. The firm had revenue of $912.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $782.26 million. Granite Construction had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.01 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Granite Construction will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Granite Construction

In other news, SVP Michael G. Tatusko sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,057,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 29,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,199,967. This represents a 20.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bradley Jay Williams sold 6,734 shares of Granite Construction stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $949,494.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,041 shares of the company's stock, valued at $992,781. This represents a 48.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in shares of Granite Construction by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 6,378 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in Granite Construction by 30.9% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 381 shares of the construction company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Granite Construction by 4.5% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,813 shares of the construction company's stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Granite Construction by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,978 shares of the construction company's stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in Granite Construction by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 22,224 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,563,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period.

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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