Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (NASDAQ:GLDD) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (NASDAQ:GLDD) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 2,079,026 shares, an increase of 22.8% from the January 15th total of 1,693,066 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,027,272 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,027,272 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP David Johanson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.02, for a total transaction of $130,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 94,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,224,700.26. This trade represents a 9.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Great Lakes Dredge & Dock

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GLDD. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury acquired a new position in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $177,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 4,730.2% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 20,287 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 19,867 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 312,266 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,097,000 after purchasing an additional 66,178 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its position in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 51.0% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 16,654 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 5,627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 30.0% during the fourth quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 152,586 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,002,000 after purchasing an additional 35,234 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.11% of the company’s stock.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Price Performance

GLDD opened at $16.87 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.82. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock has a one year low of $7.51 and a one year high of $16.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on GLDD shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 24th. Finally, CJS Securities upgraded Great Lakes Dredge & Dock to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.00.

About Great Lakes Dredge & Dock

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (NASDAQ: GLDD) is a leading provider of dredging and maritime construction services in the United States. The company specializes in the excavation and removal of sediment from waterways, harbors, ports and coastal areas to maintain navigability and support commercial shipping. Its operations encompass both maintenance dredging—removing accumulated material to restore channel depth—and new work projects such as land reclamation and harbor deepening.

In addition to traditional dredging, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock offers a range of complementary marine construction services.