Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $125.02 and last traded at $123.28, with a volume of 18939 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $123.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Granite Construction from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Granite Construction from $109.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Granite Construction from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Granite Construction in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Granite Construction from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Granite Construction presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.00.

Granite Construction Stock Up 2.9%

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $117.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.04. The company has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a PE ratio of 36.43 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.05 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 5.49 EPS for the current year.

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. Granite Construction’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Granite Construction

In related news, Director Celeste Beeks Mastin sold 7,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.23, for a total value of $801,221.22. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,206 shares in the company, valued at $1,073,977.38. The trade was a 42.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Granite Construction

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Granite Construction in the third quarter worth $26,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Granite Construction in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Granite Construction in the third quarter worth $42,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Granite Construction in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Granite Construction by 94.6% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 436 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 212 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.