Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) Receives $149.67 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $157.25.

Several research firms recently issued reports on GVA. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Granite Construction to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Granite Construction in a report on Thursday, May 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. Stephens began coverage on shares of Granite Construction in a report on Friday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Granite Construction from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Granite Construction from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th.

Granite Construction Price Performance

GVA stock opened at $160.44 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $7.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.24 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Granite Construction has a 12-month low of $89.80 and a 12-month high of $162.08. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $137.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.04.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last released its 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. The business had revenue of $912.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $782.26 million. Granite Construction had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. Granite Construction’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.01 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Granite Construction will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Granite Construction’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.99%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael G. Tatusko sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 29,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,199,967. This represents a 20.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John Timothy Romer acquired 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $143.65 per share, for a total transaction of $53,868.75. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $402,363.65. This trade represents a 15.46% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Granite Construction

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 25.0% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 52,374 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,279,000 after purchasing an additional 10,484 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Granite Construction in the 1st quarter worth about $1,160,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 39.1% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,405 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,367,000 after acquiring an additional 3,207 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Granite Construction in the 1st quarter worth about $473,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Granite Construction in the 1st quarter worth about $25,562,000.

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.