Great Lakes Advisors LLC Takes $5.10 Million Position in Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA

Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 32,287 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,104,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned 0.07% of Granite Construction at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in Granite Construction by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 6,378 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $736,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Granite Construction by 30.9% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 381 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 3.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $572,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 4.5% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,813 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Granite Construction by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,978 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $575,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Granite Construction

In other Granite Construction news, Director Carlos M. Hernandez bought 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $123.99 per share, for a total transaction of $49,596.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $624,041.67. This represents a 8.63% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Bradley Jay Williams sold 6,734 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $949,494.00. Following 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased 1,150 shares of company stock valued at $156,636 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Granite Construction Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of GVA opened at $126.33 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $133.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.31 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 1-year low of $97.26 and a 1-year high of $162.08.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.25 by ($0.09). Granite Construction had a negative net margin of 3.32% and a positive return on equity of 27.83%. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. Granite Construction’s quarterly revenue was up 28.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Granite Construction’s dividend payout ratio is presently -12.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on GVA. Stephens started coverage on shares of Granite Construction in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Granite Construction from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings lowered Granite Construction from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Granite Construction from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Granite Construction to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $158.50.

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.