Expect Equity LLC Buys Shares of 11,844 Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA

Expect Equity LLC bought a new stake in Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 11,844 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,872,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GVA. Hill City Capital LP acquired a new position in Granite Construction in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $175,508,000. Leuthold Group LLC lifted its position in Granite Construction by 1,591.8% in the 4th quarter. Leuthold Group LLC now owns 45,223 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,216,000 after buying an additional 42,550 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Granite Construction during the 1st quarter valued at $1,160,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Granite Construction during the 1st quarter valued at $2,314,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 18,586 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,144,000 after acquiring an additional 4,506 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Granite Construction

In related news, Director John Timothy Romer bought 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $143.65 per share, for a total transaction of $53,868.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,363.65. This represents a 15.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bradley Jay Williams sold 6,734 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $949,494.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $992,781. This trade represents a 48.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 1,150 shares of company stock valued at $156,636. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Granite Construction Stock Performance

GVA stock opened at $122.34 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The company has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.38 and a beta of 1.33. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 12 month low of $97.26 and a 12 month high of $162.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $132.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $130.92.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.25 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Granite Construction had a positive return on equity of 27.83% and a negative net margin of 3.32%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Granite Construction’s dividend payout ratio is presently -12.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GVA. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Granite Construction in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Granite Construction from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Granite Construction from $139.00 to $119.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised Granite Construction from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Granite Construction from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Granite Construction presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.50.

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.