Heartland Advisors Inc. Has $12.96 Million Stock Position in Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA)

Heartland Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA - Free Report) by 28.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 235,777 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 92,511 shares during the quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned about 0.54% of Granite Construction worth $12,958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Granite Construction by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 989,161 shares of the construction company's stock worth $37,608,000 after purchasing an additional 41,575 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Granite Construction by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 397,219 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $15,102,000 after buying an additional 53,438 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Granite Construction by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 378,995 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $14,409,000 after acquiring an additional 7,298 shares in the last quarter. RPG Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Granite Construction by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. RPG Investment Advisory LLC now owns 295,031 shares of the construction company's stock worth $15,005,000 after acquiring an additional 5,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Granite Construction during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $8,554,000.

Granite Construction Stock Performance

Shares of GVA traded up $1.56 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $64.16. The stock had a trading volume of 602,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 389,246. The firm has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 108.75 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.56. Granite Construction Incorporated has a one year low of $33.74 and a one year high of $64.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The construction company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $933.70 million for the quarter. Granite Construction had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 0.98%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Granite Construction's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GVA. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Granite Construction from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Granite Construction from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Granite Construction news, SVP Bradley Jay Williams sold 750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.21, for a total value of $45,907.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,423 shares in the company, valued at $454,361.83. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Granite Construction news, Director Louis E. Caldera sold 1,263 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $63,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $426,400. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Bradley Jay Williams sold 750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.21, for a total transaction of $45,907.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $454,361.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Granite Construction Company Profile

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.

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