Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) Shares Down 5.1% – Should You Sell?

Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) shares were down 5.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $136.30 and last traded at $136.1660. Approximately 107,414 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 699,577 shares. The stock had previously closed at $143.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GVA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $139.00 price target (down from $141.00) on shares of Granite Construction in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Granite Construction from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Granite Construction in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Granite Construction in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Granite Construction to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.00.

Granite Construction Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $141.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.05. The firm has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.95 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.77) by $1.03. The firm had revenue of $912.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $782.26 million. Granite Construction had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 30.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.01 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 6.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Granite Construction’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John Timothy Romer bought 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $143.65 per share, for a total transaction of $53,868.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 2,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $402,363.65. This trade represents a 15.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael G. Tatusko sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,199,967. This represents a 20.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its position in shares of Granite Construction by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 6,378 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 90 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $572,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted 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 worth $263,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Granite Construction by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,978 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 148 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.