Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) and Quanta Services (NYSE:PWR) are both construction companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership and dividends.
Risk and Volatility
Granite Construction has a beta of 1.59, indicating that its stock price is 59% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Quanta Services has a beta of 1.24, indicating that its stock price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
93.8% of Granite Construction shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.5% of Quanta Services shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Granite Construction shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Quanta Services shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Dividends
Granite Construction pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Quanta Services pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Quanta Services pays out 7.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Granite Construction has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Quanta Services has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.
Profitability
This table compares Granite Construction and Quanta Services' net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
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Granite Construction | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Quanta Services | 3.45% | 11.61% | 5.61% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Granite Construction and Quanta Services, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
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Granite Construction | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
Quanta Services | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 2.70 |
Granite Construction presently has a consensus price target of $55.00, suggesting a potential upside of 40.81%. Quanta Services has a consensus price target of $76.20, suggesting a potential downside of 20.05%. Given Granite Construction's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Granite Construction is more favorable than Quanta Services.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Granite Construction and Quanta Services' top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
---|
Granite Construction | $3.32 billion | 0.55 | $42.41 million | N/A | N/A |
Quanta Services | $12.11 billion | 1.09 | $402.04 million | $3.05 | 31.39 |
Quanta Services has higher revenue and earnings than Granite Construction.
Summary
Quanta Services beats Granite Construction on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.