Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

GVA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Granite Construction in a report on Monday, December 29th. 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 initiated coverage on shares of Granite Construction in a report on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $109.00 price objective for the company. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Granite Construction from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Granite Construction presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.50.

Granite Construction Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE GVA opened at $121.49 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $112.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.01 and a beta of 1.32. Granite Construction has a one year low of $69.08 and a one year high of $124.99.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The construction company reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. Granite Construction had a net margin of 4.31% and a return on equity of 24.04%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.05 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Granite Construction will post 5.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. Granite Construction’s payout ratio is currently 14.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Granite Construction news, Director Celeste Beeks Mastin sold 7,614 shares of Granite Construction stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.23, for a total value of $801,221.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,073,977.38. The trade was a 42.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Granite Construction

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GVA. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in Granite Construction in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Granite Construction by 574.6% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 15,886 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,832,000 after purchasing an additional 13,531 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Granite Construction by 3,388.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 192,622 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,219,000 after purchasing an additional 187,100 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Granite Construction by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $661,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC purchased a new stake in Granite Construction during the 4th quarter worth about $1,783,000.

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.