Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) Reaches New 52-Week High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Granite Construction shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday, trading as high as $145 and last seen near $144.12.
• The company’s latest earnings beat estimates sharply, with Q1 EPS of $0.26 versus a սպասated loss and revenue of $912.47 million, up 30.4% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the stock now has an average “Hold” rating and a $149.67 target price, while insiders recently sold shares and the company declared a $0.13 quarterly dividend payable July 15.

Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $145.00 and last traded at $144.1210, with a volume of 11632 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $140.60.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on GVA. Weiss Ratings downgraded Granite Construction from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Granite Construction from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Granite Construction in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Finally, Zacks Research raised Granite Construction to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $149.67.

Granite Construction Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $132.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $125.07. The stock has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 40.81 and a beta of 1.32. 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 (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 the consensus estimate of ($0.77) by $1.03. The firm had revenue of $912.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.01 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Granite Construction's payout ratio is currently 14.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael G. Tatusko sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $1,057,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 29,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,199,967. This represents a 20.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Bradley Jay Williams sold 6,734 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $949,494.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,041 shares in the company, valued at $992,781. This represents a 48.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 49,722 shares of company stock worth $6,214,036 over the last three months. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Granite Construction

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GVA. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Granite Construction by 73.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 21,379 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,612,000 after purchasing an additional 9,038 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in Granite Construction in the 1st quarter worth approximately $207,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Granite Construction by 21.1% in 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 buying an additional 29,428 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Granite Construction by 2,423.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 89,882 shares of the construction company's stock worth $8,405,000 after buying an additional 86,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in Granite Construction in the 2nd quarter worth about $229,000.

About Granite Construction

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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