Strs Ohio Sells 7,500 Shares of Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA

Strs Ohio reduced its holdings in shares of Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) by 56.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,700 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 7,500 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Granite Construction were worth $625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Granite Construction by 73.2% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 21,379 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,612,000 after purchasing an additional 9,038 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in shares of Granite Construction during the 1st quarter worth approximately $207,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Granite Construction by 21.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 168,859 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $12,732,000 after buying an additional 29,428 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Granite Construction by 23.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,796 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $450,000 after buying an additional 907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Granite Construction by 8.2% in the second quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 26,042 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,434,000 after acquiring an additional 1,975 shares during the period.

Granite Construction Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:GVA opened at $121.48 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.01 and a beta of 1.32. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 12 month low of $69.08 and a 12 month high of $124.99. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $115.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.11.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The construction company reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Granite Construction Incorporated 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Granite Construction’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GVA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Granite Construction from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Granite Construction in a research report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Granite Construction from $109.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. DA Davidson upped their price objective 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. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Granite Construction from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Celeste Beeks Mastin sold 7,614 shares of Granite Construction stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director directly owned 10,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,073,977.38. This trade represents a 42.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Granite Construction 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.