Boothbay Fund Management LLC Purchases 18,226 Shares of Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA

Boothbay Fund Management LLC grew its position in shares of Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 178,557 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,226 shares during the quarter. Granite Construction comprises approximately 0.3% of Boothbay Fund Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Boothbay Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Granite Construction were worth $20,597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GVA. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Granite Construction by 73.2% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 21,379 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,612,000 after purchasing an additional 9,038 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in shares of Granite Construction in the 1st quarter valued at $207,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 21.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 168,859 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $12,732,000 after acquiring an additional 29,428 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 2,423.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 89,882 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,405,000 after acquiring an additional 86,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Granite Construction in the 2nd quarter valued at $229,000.

Granite Construction Stock Performance

NYSE GVA opened at $143.57 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $125.85. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 12-month low of $88.26 and a 12-month high of $148.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $6.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.38 and a beta of 1.32.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.77) by $1.03. Granite Construction had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. The business had revenue of $912.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $782.26 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.01 EPS. Granite Construction’s revenue was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Granite Construction’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on GVA shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Granite Construction to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Granite Construction in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Granite Construction from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Granite Construction from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Granite Construction presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $149.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Granite Construction

In other Granite Construction news, Director John Timothy Romer purchased 375 shares of Granite Construction stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $143.65 per share, with a total value of $53,868.75. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,801 shares in the company, valued at $402,363.65. This trade represents a 15.46% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael G. Tatusko sold 7,500 shares of Granite Construction stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $1,057,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 40,885 shares of company stock worth $5,155,010. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Granite Construction

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.