Insider Selling: Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) SVP Sells 7,500 Shares of Stock

Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) SVP Michael Tatusko sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,057,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 29,787 shares in the company, valued at $4,199,967. The trade was a 20.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Granite Construction Trading Down 1.0%

Granite Construction stock traded down $1.48 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $139.87. 573,248 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 666,839. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $130.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $123.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 12 month low of $87.72 and a 12 month high of $145.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.31 and a beta of 1.32.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.77) by $1.03. The company had revenue of $912.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $782.26 million. Granite Construction had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. Granite Construction’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.01 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Granite Construction’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Granite Construction in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Granite Construction from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research raised Granite Construction to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Granite Construction from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on Granite Construction from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $149.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Granite Construction

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. 12th Street Asset Management Company LLC bought a new stake in shares of Granite Construction during the 3rd quarter worth $6,799,000. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Granite Construction in the fourth quarter valued at $1,783,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of Granite Construction by 9.1% during the third quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 160,331 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $17,580,000 after buying an additional 13,401 shares during the period. Leuthold Group LLC lifted its stake in Granite Construction by 1,591.8% in the 4th quarter. Leuthold Group LLC now owns 45,223 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,216,000 after purchasing an additional 42,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co purchased a new stake in shares of Granite Construction in the third quarter worth $2,013,000.

About Granite Construction

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.