KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes Position in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. (NASDAQ:GLDD)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. (NASDAQ:GLDD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 11,700 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $132,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GLDD. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 338.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 106,642 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,123,000 after buying an additional 82,344 shares in the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. raised its holdings in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 2,095,834 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,069,000 after acquiring an additional 99,696 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 225.3% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 60,127 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $633,000 after buying an additional 41,645 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,561,897 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $16,450,000 after acquiring an additional 22,166 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.11% of the company’s stock.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Price Performance

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock stock opened at $8.81 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $593.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.49, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.17. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. has a 1 year low of $6.55 and a 1 year high of $12.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $9.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.86.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $202.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.20 million. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 7.51%. Sell-side analysts predict that Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, March 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 8.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Great Lakes Dredge & Dock news, SVP Christopher Gunsten acquired 3,875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $7.75 per share, with a total value of $30,031.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 61,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $476,873. The trade was a 6.72 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Great Lakes Dredge & Dock

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corp. engages in the provision of dredging services. Its projects include channel and port maintenance, channel deepening and port expansion, coastal protection and restoration, as well as land reclamation. The company was founded by William A. Lydon and Frederick C. Drews in 1890 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.