Texas Capital Downgrades Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD) to Hold

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD) was downgraded by equities researchers at Texas Capital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on GLDD. Wall Street Zen downgraded Great Lakes Dredge & Dock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Great Lakes Dredge & Dock from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. CJS Securities raised Great Lakes Dredge & Dock to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research cut Great Lakes Dredge & Dock from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.00.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Price Performance

GLDD opened at $16.95 on Wednesday. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock has a 1 year low of $7.51 and a 1 year high of $16.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Great Lakes Dredge & Dock news, SVP David Johanson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.02, for a total value of $130,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,224,700.26. This trade represents a 9.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Great Lakes Dredge & Dock

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GLDD. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 0.8% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,323,251 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $51,835,000 after acquiring an additional 35,044 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,987,334 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $52,314,000 after acquiring an additional 108,033 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 10.6% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,412,467 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,925,000 after purchasing an additional 231,558 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,656,547 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $20,195,000 after purchasing an additional 51,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 228.7% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,146,135 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $13,742,000 after purchasing an additional 797,411 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.11% of the company’s stock.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Great Lakes Dredge & Dock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Saltchuk agreed to acquire GLDD in an all-cash transaction valuing the company at roughly $1.2B equity ($1.5B total transaction) with a $17.00 per-share tender offer — a clear takeover premium driving buying interest. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock to Join the Saltchuk Family of Companies
• Positive Sentiment: Media reports and market headlines show the stock jumping on the deal announcement, reinforcing momentum as investors price toward the $17 offer level. Saltchuk Acquires GLDD for $1.5B
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large call-option buying (over 7,000 calls) indicates speculative/hedged bullish bets ahead of deal-close or related news — this can amplify intraday moves.
• Neutral Sentiment: GLDD is set to report Q4 and full-year 2025 results; analysts note strong backlog/demand for dredging but warn margins could face pressure from dry-docking costs — earnings may affect deal timing or investor sentiment. Earnings Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: The company scheduled its Q4/2025 results release — investors will watch any commentary on backlog, margins and deal progress. Earnings Date Scheduled
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest posts in the feed show 0 shares (likely a reporting/data anomaly) and an effectively 0-day ratio — not meaningful for positioning now.
• Negative Sentiment: Several shareholder-law firms (Johnson Fistel, Halper Sadeh, Ademi, Monteverde, Wohl & Fruchter and others) launched investigations into whether the $17 offer is fair and whether the board met fiduciary duties — potential litigation or deal renegotiation could delay or alter the transaction and create downside risk. Johnson Fistel Investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Noble Financial downgraded GLDD from Outperform to Market Perform — a modest analyst headwind that could temper rally if other firms follow. Noble Downgrade

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company Profile

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (NASDAQ: GLDD) is a leading provider of dredging and maritime construction services in the United States. The company specializes in the excavation and removal of sediment from waterways, harbors, ports and coastal areas to maintain navigability and support commercial shipping. Its operations encompass both maintenance dredging—removing accumulated material to restore channel depth—and new work projects such as land reclamation and harbor deepening.

In addition to traditional dredging, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock offers a range of complementary marine construction services.