Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on GVA. Weiss Ratings raised Granite Construction from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Granite Construction in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $139.00 target price (down from $141.00) on shares of Granite Construction in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Granite Construction in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Granite Construction to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.00.

Granite Construction Stock Performance

Shares of GVA opened at $124.41 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.44 billion, a PE ratio of 35.85 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $139.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.31. Granite Construction has a 52-week low of $89.80 and a 52-week high of $162.08.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last posted 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. Granite Construction had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. The business had revenue of $912.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $782.26 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 30.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Granite Construction will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Granite Construction

In other news, Director John Timothy Romer purchased 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $143.65 per share, for a total transaction of $53,868.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $402,363.65. The trade was a 15.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Bradley Jay Williams sold 6,734 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $992,781. This trade represents a 48.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Granite Construction

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 512.8% in the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 239 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Granite Construction during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in Granite Construction during the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Granite Construction by 30.9% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 381 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Granite Construction in the 4th quarter worth about $56,000.

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.