BNP Paribas Financial Markets Acquires 154,138 Shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. (NASDAQ:GLDD)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. (NASDAQ:GLDD - Free Report) by 53.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 441,386 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 154,138 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.66% of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock worth $4,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 878.9% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 5,619 shares of the construction company's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 5,045 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock in the fourth quarter worth $69,000. Semanteon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock in the fourth quarter valued at about $130,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock in the fourth quarter valued at about $132,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Great Lakes Dredge & Dock

In related news, SVP Christopher Gunsten purchased 3,875 shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $7.75 per share, for a total transaction of $30,031.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 61,532 shares of the company's stock, valued at $476,873. This represents a 6.72% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eleni Beyko sold 22,579 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.26, for a total transaction of $231,660.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50,138 shares in the company, valued at $514,415.88. This represents a 31.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of GLDD stock traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $10.99. The stock had a trading volume of 497,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 469,206. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $9.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.50. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. has a 52-week low of $7.51 and a 52-week high of $12.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $746.51 million, a PE ratio of 13.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The construction company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.24. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 13.72%. The firm had revenue of $242.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $206.70 million. Equities analysts expect that Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, March 14th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 8.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday.

About Great Lakes Dredge & Dock

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corp. engages in the provision of dredging services. Its projects include channel and port maintenance, channel deepening and port expansion, coastal protection and restoration, as well as land reclamation. The company was founded by William A. Lydon and Frederick C. Drews in 1890 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.