Wasatch Advisors LP Has $63.97 Million Stock Position in Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA

Wasatch Advisors LP reduced its stake in Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 404,654 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 44,935 shares during the quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP’s holdings in Granite Construction were worth $63,968,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. KWB Wealth bought a new stake in shares of Granite Construction during the second quarter worth approximately $960,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Granite Construction in the second quarter valued at approximately $486,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 3.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $572,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Granite Construction during the second quarter worth approximately $405,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in 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 worth $6,279,000 after purchasing an additional 10,484 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on GVA. Stephens assumed coverage on Granite Construction in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Granite Construction to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Granite Construction from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Granite Construction from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Granite Construction from $139.00 to $119.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Granite Construction has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $158.50.

Granite Construction Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of GVA opened at $125.43 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 12 month low of $97.26 and a 12 month high of $162.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $135.25 and its 200-day moving average is $130.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a PE ratio of -29.10 and a beta of 1.33.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.25 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Granite Construction had a negative net margin of 3.32% and a positive return on equity of 27.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 28.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Bradley Jay Williams sold 6,734 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $949,494.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael G. Tatusko sold 7,500 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 $1,057,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 29,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,199,967. This trade represents a 20.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 1,150 shares of company stock valued at $156,636. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.