Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $123.05 and last traded at $122.82, with a volume of 108594 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $120.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GVA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Granite Construction from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Granite Construction in a research report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Granite Construction in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $109.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Granite Construction from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 14th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on Granite Construction from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Granite Construction has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.50.

Granite Construction Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $110.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a PE ratio of 35.49 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

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

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Granite Construction

In related news, Director Celeste Beeks Mastin sold 7,614 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.23, for a total transaction of $801,221.22. Following the sale, the director owned 10,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,073,977.38. This trade represents a 42.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 8.9% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,602,382 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $175,701,000 after buying an additional 131,360 shares in the last quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC grew its stake in Granite Construction by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 1,370,029 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $128,111,000 after acquiring an additional 171,904 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP grew its stake in Granite Construction by 569.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP now owns 1,339,818 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $151,064,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139,818 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Granite Construction by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,221,031 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $114,179,000 after acquiring an additional 46,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,037,916 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $97,066,000 after purchasing an additional 7,979 shares during the period.

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.