Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) Sets New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $119.99 and last traded at $119.82, with a volume of 599727 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $115.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GVA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Granite Construction in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Granite Construction from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Granite Construction in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $109.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Granite Construction from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, DA Davidson raised 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.50.

Granite Construction Trading Up 4.6%

The company has a fifty day moving average of $108.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.64 and a beta of 1.32.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The construction company reported $2.70 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 company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.05 EPS. Granite Construction’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 5.49 EPS for the current year.

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Granite Construction’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.99%.

Insider Activity at Granite Construction

In other Granite Construction news, Director Celeste Beeks Mastin sold 7,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.23, for a total transaction of $801,221.22. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,073,977.38. This represents a 42.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Granite Construction

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GVA. Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 2,341 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in Granite Construction by 7.3% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,642 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Callan Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Granite Construction by 4.4% in the third quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 2,774 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 4.5% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,813 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,675 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period.

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.