JPMorgan Chase & Co. Initiates Coverage on Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD)

Equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD) in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating and a $20.00 price target on the construction company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 29.79% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research downgraded Great Lakes Dredge & Dock from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, CJS Securities upgraded Great Lakes Dredge & Dock to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.00.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Stock Down 2.2%

GLDD opened at $15.41 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.06, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.23. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock has a 52 week low of $7.51 and a 52 week high of $16.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The construction company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $195.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $201.30 million. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 16.84%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Great Lakes Dredge & Dock will post 0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Great Lakes Dredge & Dock

In other news, SVP David Johanson sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.96, for a total transaction of $29,316.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 91,963 shares in the company, valued at $1,283,803.48. This represents a 2.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Great Lakes Dredge & Dock

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GLDD. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 35,035 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 3,169 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock during the 1st quarter worth approximately $304,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 4.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 39,190 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $341,000 after buying an additional 1,653 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,726,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 1.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 246,766 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,147,000 after buying an additional 3,042 shares in the last quarter. 89.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.