Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 126,483 Shares of Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA

Hsbc Holdings PLC lowered its holdings in shares of Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) by 85.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,824 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 126,483 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Granite Construction were worth $2,526,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its position in shares of Granite Construction by 512.8% during the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 239 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Granite Construction during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in Granite Construction during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Granite Construction during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Granite Construction by 1,417.6% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 516 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter.

Granite Construction Stock Up 0.0%

NYSE GVA opened at $160.44 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $7.02 billion, a PE ratio of 46.24 and a beta of 1.32. Granite Construction Incorporated has a one year low of $89.80 and a one year high of $162.08. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $137.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.77) by $1.03. The firm had revenue of $912.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $782.26 million. Granite Construction had a return on equity of 24.90% and a net margin of 3.99%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.01 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Granite Construction’s payout ratio is currently 14.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Granite Construction news, SVP Bradley Jay Williams sold 6,734 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $949,494.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $992,781. This trade represents a 48.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Timothy Romer bought 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $143.65 per share, with a total value of $53,868.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 2,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $402,363.65. The trade was a 15.46% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Granite Construction from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Granite Construction in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Stephens assumed coverage on Granite Construction in a research report on Friday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Granite Construction to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Granite Construction from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $157.25.

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.