The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Makes New $3.56 Million Investment in Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 22,519 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,560,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Hill City Capital LP bought a new stake in Granite Construction in the 2nd quarter worth about $175,508,000. Leuthold Group LLC lifted its stake in Granite Construction by 1,591.8% during the 4th quarter. Leuthold Group LLC now owns 45,223 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,216,000 after acquiring an additional 42,550 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Granite Construction during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,160,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Granite Construction during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,104,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 52,374 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,279,000 after acquiring an additional 10,484 shares during the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Granite Construction news, Director John Timothy Romer purchased 375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $143.65 per share, with a total value of $53,868.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,801 shares in the company, valued at $402,363.65. The trade was a 15.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bradley Jay Williams sold 6,734 shares of the business’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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,041 shares in the company, valued at $992,781. The trade was a 48.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders acquired 1,150 shares of company stock valued at $156,636 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Granite Construction Stock Performance

GVA opened at $117.81 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.33 and a beta of 1.32. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 1-year low of $97.26 and a 1-year high of $162.08.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last announced 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 negative net margin of 3.32% and a positive return on equity of 27.83%. The firm 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 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Granite Construction’s dividend payout ratio is presently -12.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Granite Construction to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Granite Construction from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Granite Construction in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Granite Construction from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.50.

Granite Construction Company 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.