Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) Given Sell Rating at The Goldman Sachs Group

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA)‘s stock had its “sell” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $139.00 target price on the construction company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $141.00. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 3.22% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Stephens started coverage on Granite Construction in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Granite Construction to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Granite Construction in a report on Thursday, May 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings raised Granite Construction from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Granite Construction from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. One equities 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.00.

Granite Construction Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GVA opened at $143.63 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.05. Granite Construction has a 52 week low of $89.80 and a 52 week high of $162.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.39 and a beta of 1.29.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.77) by $1.03. Granite Construction had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. The firm had revenue of $912.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $782.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.01 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Granite Construction will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Granite Construction news, SVP Bradley Jay Williams sold 6,734 shares of the firm’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 sale, the senior vice president owned 7,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $992,781. This trade represents a 48.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John Timothy Romer bought 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $143.65 per share, with a total value of $53,868.75. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $402,363.65. This trade represents a 15.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Granite Construction

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in Granite Construction by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 6,378 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 30.9% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 381 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Granite Construction by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $572,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Granite Construction by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,813 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Granite Construction by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,978 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $575,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter.

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.