Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) Short Interest Update

Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,530,000 shares, an increase of 5.3% from the September 30th total of 4,300,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 601,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.5 days. Currently, 10.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Granite Construction Price Performance

GVA stock traded down $2.44 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $79.62. 288,828 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 521,155. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $78.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.91. Granite Construction has a 52-week low of $36.74 and a 52-week high of $84.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.13 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.56.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The construction company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.41. Granite Construction had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 17.82%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. Granite Construction’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Granite Construction will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Granite Construction’s payout ratio is 29.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Granite Construction from $61.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Granite Construction

In other Granite Construction news, SVP Michael G. Tatusko sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.22, for a total value of $346,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 21,943 shares in the company, valued at $1,518,894.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Granite Construction

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GVA. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Granite Construction during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC grew its position in Granite Construction by 30.8% during the first quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 850 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 66.4% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 902 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Granite Construction in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $107,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 82.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,007 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 907 shares in the last quarter.

Granite Construction Company Profile

Granite Construction Incorporated operates as an infrastructure contractor in the United States. It operates through two segments: Construction and Materials segments. The Construction segment engages in the construction and rehabilitation of roads, pavement preservation, bridges, rail lines, airports, marine ports, dams, reservoirs, aqueducts, infrastructure, and site development for use by the public and water-related construction for municipal agencies, commercial water suppliers, industrial facilities, and energy companies; and construction of various complex projects, including infrastructure/site development, mining, public safety, tunnel, solar storage, and power related projects.