OP Asset Management Ltd Takes $637,000 Position in Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA

OP Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,315 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $637,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GVA. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its position in Granite Construction by 512.8% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 239 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Granite Construction in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Granite Construction in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Granite Construction in the 4th quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Granite Construction by 1,417.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 516 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 482 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on GVA shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Granite Construction from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Oppenheimer started coverage on Granite Construction in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Granite Construction to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Stephens assumed coverage on Granite Construction in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Granite Construction from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Granite Construction currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $157.25.

Granite Construction Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:GVA opened at $157.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a PE ratio of 45.53 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $138.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.72. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 1 year low of $89.80 and a 1 year high of $162.08. 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 (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 the consensus estimate of ($0.77) by $1.03. Granite Construction had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. The company had revenue of $912.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $782.26 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.01 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 30.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 6.14 EPS for the current year.

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Granite Construction’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.99%.

Insider Activity

In other Granite Construction news, Director John Timothy Romer acquired 375 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $143.65 per share, with a total value of $53,868.75. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $402,363.65. This trade represents a 15.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael G. Tatusko sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,057,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 29,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,199,967. This trade 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.

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.