Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Granite Construction from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Granite Construction in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Granite Construction from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Granite Construction in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $109.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Granite Construction presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.50.

Granite Construction Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE GVA opened at $123.83 on Monday. Granite Construction has a 12 month low of $69.08 and a 12 month high of $124.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $111.00 and a 200-day moving average of $106.01. The company has a market cap of $5.41 billion, a PE ratio of 35.68 and a beta of 1.32.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The construction company reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. Granite Construction had a net margin of 4.31% and a return on equity of 24.04%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.05 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Granite Construction will post 5.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Granite Construction news, Director Celeste Beeks Mastin sold 7,614 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.23, for a total transaction of $801,221.22. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,206 shares in the company, valued at $1,073,977.38. This trade represents a 42.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Granite Construction

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GVA. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Granite Construction during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in shares of Granite Construction in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 94.6% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 436 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its position in Granite Construction by 1,417.6% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 516 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Granite Construction during the 3rd quarter worth $77,000.

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.