Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) saw a significant drop in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 3,388,908 shares, a drop of 33.1% from the February 12th total of 5,067,474 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 629,947 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.4 days. Currently, 7.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Currently, 7.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 629,947 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.4 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 41.5% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 38,809 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,255,000 after acquiring an additional 11,385 shares during the period. 12th Street Asset Management Company LLC acquired a new position in Granite Construction during the third quarter valued at $6,799,000. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new position in Granite Construction during the second quarter valued at $301,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Granite Construction by 0.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,037,916 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $97,066,000 after purchasing an additional 7,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new stake in Granite Construction during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,013,000.

Granite Construction Stock Performance

GVA stock traded down $2.70 during trading on Friday, reaching $120.97. The company had a trading volume of 319,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 670,550. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.34. The company has a market cap of $5.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.05 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.22. Granite Construction has a twelve month low of $69.08 and a twelve month high of $137.24.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The construction company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Granite Construction had a net margin of 4.36% and a return on equity of 24.10%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. Granite Construction’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Granite Construction will post 5.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Granite Construction’s payout ratio is presently 14.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GVA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Granite Construction from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Granite Construction in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Granite Construction from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Granite Construction from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Granite Construction from $109.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $139.50.

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.