Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (NASDAQ:GLDD) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $15.41 and last traded at $15.3980, with a volume of 1211063 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.70.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on GLDD shares. CJS Securities upgraded Great Lakes Dredge & Dock to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Stock Down 3.2%

The company has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 12.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s fifty day moving average is $13.13 and its 200-day moving average is $12.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.20.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The construction company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $195.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $201.30 million. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 16.84%. As a group, analysts predict that Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation will post 0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Great Lakes Dredge & Dock

In other Great Lakes Dredge & Dock news, SVP David Johanson sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.96, for a total transaction of $29,316.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 91,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,283,803.48. This trade represents a 2.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,323,251 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $51,835,000 after purchasing an additional 35,044 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 10.6% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,412,467 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,925,000 after buying an additional 231,558 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 3.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,656,547 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $20,195,000 after acquiring an additional 51,269 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 228.7% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,146,135 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $13,742,000 after acquiring an additional 797,411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 888,739 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $10,656,000 after acquiring an additional 99,463 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.11% of the company’s stock.

About Great Lakes Dredge & Dock

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (NASDAQ: GLDD) is a leading provider of dredging and maritime construction services in the United States. The company specializes in the excavation and removal of sediment from waterways, harbors, ports and coastal areas to maintain navigability and support commercial shipping. Its operations encompass both maintenance dredging—removing accumulated material to restore channel depth—and new work projects such as land reclamation and harbor deepening.

In addition to traditional dredging, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock offers a range of complementary marine construction services.