Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) Lifted to Buy at Zacks Investment Research

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA – Get Rating) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports. The firm presently has a $34.00 target price on the construction company’s stock. Zacks Investment Research‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 8.87% from the company’s previous close.

According to Zacks, “Granite Construction Inc. is one of the nation’s largest infrastructure contractors and construction materials producers. Granite specializes in complex infrastructure projects, including transportation, industrial and federal contracting, and is a proven leader in alternative procurement project delivery. Granite is an award-winning firm in safety, quality and environmental stewardship, and has been honoured as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere Institute for eight consecutive years. Granite is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is part of the S&P MidCap 400 Index, the MSCI KLD 400 Social Index and the Russell 2000 Index. “

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on Granite Construction in a report on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating for the company.

Shares of NYSE:GVA opened at $31.23 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $31.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.01. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.02 and a beta of 1.40. Granite Construction has a 52-week low of $27.84 and a 52-week high of $44.31.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 28th. The construction company reported ($0.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of ($0.31) by $0.02. Granite Construction had a return on equity of 7.51% and a net margin of 1.95%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.11) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Granite Construction will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,356 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in Granite Construction by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 4,487 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $178,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Granite Construction during the 3rd quarter valued at about $192,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Granite Construction by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 6,604 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. Finally, Sciencast Management LP purchased a new position in Granite Construction during the 1st quarter valued at about $219,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.64% of the company’s stock.

Granite Construction Company Profile (Get Rating)

Granite Construction Incorporated operates as an infrastructure contractor and a construction materials producer in the United States. It operates through two segments, Construction and Materials segments. The Construction segment engages in the construction and rehabilitation of roads, pavement preservation, bridges, rail lines, airports, marine ports, dams, reservoirs, aqueducts, infrastructure, and site development for use by the public.

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