Insider Buying: Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) Director Acquires $53,171.25 in Stock

Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) Director John Timothy Romer bought 375 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $141.79 per share, for a total transaction of $53,171.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $343,982.54. This trade represents a 18.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

John Timothy Romer also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, June 15th, John Timothy Romer bought 375 shares of Granite Construction stock. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $143.65 per share, for a total transaction of $53,868.75.

Granite Construction Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GVA opened at $143.57 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $133.59 and its 200-day moving average is $125.85. Granite Construction Incorporated has a twelve month low of $88.26 and a twelve month high of $148.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.38 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

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

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Granite Construction’s dividend payout ratio is 14.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GVA. Zacks Research upgraded Granite Construction to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Granite Construction from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Granite Construction in a report on Thursday, May 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Granite Construction from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $149.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its stake in Granite Construction by 512.8% in the 4th 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 during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Granite Construction in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in Granite Construction in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in Granite Construction by 30.9% in the 1st 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 period. Finally, Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Granite Construction in the 4th quarter valued at $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.