Hill City Capital LP Makes New $175.51 Million Investment in Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA

Hill City Capital LP purchased a new position in Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,110,248 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $175,508,004. Granite Construction comprises about 0.0% of Hill City Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Hill City Capital LP owned 2.54% of Granite Construction at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its holdings in Granite Construction by 512.8% in the 4th 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. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Granite Construction during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 1,417.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 516 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Granite Construction during the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Granite Construction from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Stephens began coverage on Granite Construction in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $180.00 price objective 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 cut their price objective on shares of Granite Construction from $139.00 to $119.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Granite Construction to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.50.

Granite Construction Price Performance

Shares of GVA stock traded down $2.00 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $122.71. 259,377 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 741,681. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.87. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 12-month low of $97.26 and a 12-month high of $162.08. The company has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a PE ratio of -28.47 and a beta of 1.33.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.25 by ($0.09). Granite Construction had a positive return on equity of 27.83% and a negative net margin of 3.32%.The firm had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.42 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 28.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Granite Construction’s payout ratio is currently -12.06%.

Insider Activity at Granite Construction

In other news, Director John Timothy Romer bought 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $143.65 per share, with a total value of $53,868.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 2,801 shares in the company, valued at $402,363.65. This represents a 15.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael G. Tatusko sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,057,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 29,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,199,967. This represents a 20.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders purchased 1,150 shares of company stock valued at $156,636. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.