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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $3,148,016.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 114,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,569,743.72. This trade represents a 18.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Granite Construction Trading Down 0.1%

GVA stock traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $122.23. The company had a trading volume of 62,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 642,826. The company has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a PE ratio of 33.30 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $125.93 and a 200 day moving average of $115.53. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 12 month low of $69.08 and a 12 month high of $137.24. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The construction company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Granite Construction had a return on equity of 24.10% and a net margin of 4.36%.The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. Granite Construction’s quarterly revenue was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 5.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is presently 14.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Granite Construction

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GVA. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Granite Construction during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 512.8% in the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 239 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Granite Construction in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of Granite Construction during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Granite Construction during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Granite Construction from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Granite Construction from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Zacks Research raised shares of Granite Construction from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Granite Construction in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Granite Construction has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $139.50.

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.