Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Granite Construction shares fell 5.6% to $110.23 while trading volume surged 116% to roughly 1.58 million shares.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive but mixed: the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $161 average price target, despite Goldman Sachs maintaining a “Sell” rating and Wall Street Zen downgrading it to “Hold.”
• The company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, including $0.26 EPS and $912.5 million in revenue, up 30.4% year over year; it also pays a $0.52 annualized dividend yielding about 0.5%.

Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA - Get Free Report) shares saw strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 1,575,458 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 116% from the previous session's volume of 728,589 shares.The stock last traded at $110.2250 and had previously closed at $117.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on GVA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating and set a $139.00 price objective (down from $141.00) on shares of Granite Construction in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Granite Construction from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Zacks Research upgraded Granite Construction to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings cut Granite Construction from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on Granite Construction in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $161.00.

Granite Construction Stock Down 5.6%

The business's 50-day moving average price is $137.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of 32.15 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

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

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Granite Construction's payout ratio is 14.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 29,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,199,967. The trade was a 20.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Bradley Jay Williams sold 6,734 shares of the 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 $949,494.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,041 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its holdings in Granite Construction by 512.8% in the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 239 shares of the construction company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Granite Construction in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Granite Construction during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 30.9% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 381 shares of the construction company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Granite Construction during the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000.

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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