SEB Asset Management AB Invests $3.57 Million in Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA

SEB Asset Management AB bought a new stake in shares of Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 29,804 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,573,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its holdings in Granite Construction by 512.8% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 239 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Granite Construction during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in Granite Construction in the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 30.9% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 381 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Granite Construction during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Granite Construction

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,041 shares in the company, valued at $992,781. This trade represents a 48.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John Timothy Romer bought 375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,363.65. This represents a 15.46% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GVA. Weiss Ratings downgraded Granite Construction from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stephens began 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. Wall Street Zen cut Granite Construction from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $139.00 price objective (down from $141.00) on shares of Granite Construction in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Granite Construction to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given 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 $161.00.

Granite Construction Stock Performance

Shares of GVA opened at $125.65 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 1 year low of $89.80 and a 1 year high of $162.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.50 billion, a PE ratio of 36.21 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $138.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.49.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.77) by $1.03. Granite Construction had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. The company had revenue of $912.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $782.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.01 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Granite Construction’s dividend payout ratio is 14.99%.

Granite Construction Profile

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.