Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) Given New $124.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) had its target price raised by The Goldman Sachs Group from $109.00 to $124.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on GVA. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Granite Construction from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Granite Construction from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Granite Construction from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Granite Construction in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.00.

Granite Construction Stock Performance

NYSE:GVA opened at $119.60 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $115.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.01. Granite Construction has a 1-year low of $69.08 and a 1-year high of $124.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.47 and a beta of 1.32.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The construction company reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.05 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Granite Construction will post 5.49 EPS for the current year.

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 Granite Construction stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.23, for a total value of $801,221.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,073,977.38. The trade was a 42.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Granite Construction

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Granite Construction in the fourth quarter valued at $447,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Granite Construction by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 18,586 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,144,000 after purchasing an additional 4,506 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Granite Construction in the 4th quarter valued at about $324,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,745 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of Granite Construction by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 22,224 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,563,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter.

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.