Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) Stake Trimmed by Systematic Financial Management LP

Systematic Financial Management LP lowered its holdings in shares of Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 571,848 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 33,102 shares during the period. Granite Construction makes up about 1.3% of Systematic Financial Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Systematic Financial Management LP owned 1.31% of Granite Construction worth $50,157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Granite Construction during the 4th quarter worth about $92,154,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Granite Construction during the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,046,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Granite Construction in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,855,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Granite Construction by 35.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,131,419 shares of the construction company's stock worth $99,237,000 after acquiring an additional 294,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Granite Construction by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,651,676 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $232,579,000 after acquiring an additional 263,302 shares during the period.

Granite Construction Stock Up 0.2%

GVA traded up $0.17 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $86.95. 257,688 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 652,484. Granite Construction Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $58.23 and a fifty-two week high of $105.20. The stock has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.20 and a beta of 1.33. The business's 50 day moving average is $78.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

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

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Granite Construction's payout ratio is 21.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Granite Construction from $69.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th.

Insider Activity

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

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.