Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) Sets New 1-Year Low - Time to Sell?

Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $78.31 and last traded at $81.36, with a volume of 819842 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $80.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Granite Construction from $69.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Monday.

Granite Construction Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of 33.62 and a beta of 1.33. The stock's fifty day moving average is $76.86 and its 200-day moving average is $85.86.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The construction company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.43) by $0.44. The company had revenue of $699.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $706.15 million. Granite Construction had a return on equity of 20.67% and a net margin of 3.15%. Granite Construction's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 5.49 EPS for the current year.

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Granite Construction's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Granite Construction

In related news, COO James A. Radich sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.14, for a total transaction of $217,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 28,256 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,462,227.84. This trade represents a 8.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Brian R. Dowd sold 2,025 shares of Granite Construction stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.55, for a total value of $165,138.75. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,880 shares in the company, valued at $1,131,914. This represents a 12.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,932 shares of company stock worth $896,979 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Granite Construction

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Granite Construction by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 23,747 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,083,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC grew its stake in Granite Construction by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 12,408 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,088,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Granite Construction by 68.4% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 325 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 10,376 shares of the construction company's stock worth $910,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 26.5% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 674 shares of the construction company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter.

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.