Insider Selling: Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) CEO Sells $3,148,016.12 in Stock

Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) CEO Kyle Larkin sold 26,651 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $3,148,016.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 114,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,569,743.72. This represents a 18.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Granite Construction Stock Down 0.0%

GVA stock opened at $121.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.21 and a beta of 1.30. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 12 month low of $69.08 and a 12 month high of $137.24. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $125.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The construction company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. Granite Construction had a net margin of 4.36% and a return on equity of 24.10%. The firm’s revenue was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 5.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Granite Construction’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on GVA. DA Davidson raised their target price on Granite Construction from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Granite Construction in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of Granite Construction from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Granite Construction from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Granite Construction from $109.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Granite Construction presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $139.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Granite Construction

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in Granite Construction by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 6,378 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $736,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in Granite Construction by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 2,341 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Granite Construction by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 2,774 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,813 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,675 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter.

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.