Expect Equity LLC Invests $1.87 Million in Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA

Expect Equity LLC acquired a new stake in Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 11,844 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,872,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its holdings in 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 boosted its stake in Granite Construction by 30.9% during 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Granite Construction by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $572,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Granite Construction by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,813 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,978 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other Granite Construction news, SVP Michael G. Tatusko sold 7,500 shares of Granite Construction 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 $1,057,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 29,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,199,967. The trade was a 20.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Timothy Romer bought 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $143.65 per share, for a total transaction of $53,868.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 2,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,363.65. This trade represents a 15.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have acquired a total of 1,150 shares of company stock worth $156,636 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Granite Construction Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:GVA opened at $122.34 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.38 and a beta of 1.33. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 1-year low of $97.26 and a 1-year high of $162.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.25 by ($0.09). Granite Construction had a positive return on equity of 27.83% and a negative net margin of 3.32%.The company had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.42 EPS. Granite Construction’s quarterly revenue was up 28.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Granite Construction’s payout ratio is currently -12.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Granite Construction from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Granite Construction from $139.00 to $119.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Granite Construction in a report on Friday, June 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Granite Construction from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Granite Construction to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.50.

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.