Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Wall Street Brokerages

Shares of Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $158.50.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Granite Construction from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Granite Construction from $139.00 to $119.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Granite Construction from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Granite Construction from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th.

Granite Construction Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of GVA opened at $106.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Granite Construction has a 1 year low of $97.26 and a 1 year high of $162.08. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.47. The firm has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.71 and a beta of 1.34.

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

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Granite Construction’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -12.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Granite Construction

In other news, Director Carlos M. Hernandez bought 400 shares of Granite Construction stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $123.99 per share, with a total value of $49,596.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 5,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $624,041.67. This trade represents a 8.63% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Granite Construction

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Granite Construction by 52.8% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,397,573 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $167,541,000 after buying an additional 483,080 shares in the last quarter. Hill City Capital LP bought a new stake in Granite Construction in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $175,508,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,067,545 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $127,969,000 after acquiring an additional 4,327 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 287,744 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $34,495,000 after acquiring an additional 22,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 39.0% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 228,163 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,068,000 after acquiring an additional 64,007 shares in the last quarter.

About Granite Construction

Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) is an infrastructure construction company that provides engineering, construction and rehabilitation services for public and private-sector clients. The company’s work supports transportation, water and other essential infrastructure projects across the United States.

Granite’s transportation activities include the construction and maintenance of highways, roads, bridges, airports, rail systems and other transit facilities. Its water-related services include the development and improvement of water treatment and distribution systems, wastewater facilities, dams, pipelines and related infrastructure.