Strs Ohio Increases Holdings in Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA

Strs Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) by 136.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,800 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Granite Construction were worth $935,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Granite Construction by 73.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 21,379 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,612,000 after acquiring an additional 9,038 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in shares of Granite Construction during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $207,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 21.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 168,859 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $12,732,000 after purchasing an additional 29,428 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 2,423.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 89,882 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,405,000 after purchasing an additional 86,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Granite Construction in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $229,000.

Granite Construction Trading Down 2.8%

NYSE:GVA opened at $144.28 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 1 year low of $89.80 and a 1 year high of $162.08. The company has a market cap of $6.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.58 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $141.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.84.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $0.26 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 last year, the company earned $0.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 6.14 EPS for the current year.

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 currently 14.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Granite Construction in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Granite Construction to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Granite Construction from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Stephens assumed coverage on Granite Construction in a report on Friday, June 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Granite Construction from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Granite Construction has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $157.25.

Insider Activity at Granite Construction

In related news, Director John Timothy Romer purchased 375 shares of Granite Construction stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $143.65 per share, for a total transaction of $53,868.75. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,801 shares in the company, valued at $402,363.65. The trade was a 15.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael G. Tatusko sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $1,057,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 29,787 shares in the company, valued at $4,199,967. This represents a 20.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.