Head to Head Contrast: Dycom Industries (NYSE:DY) and Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA)

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) and Dycom Industries (NYSE:DY) are both mid-cap construction companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Granite Construction and Dycom Industries, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Granite Construction	1	0	0	0	1.00
Dycom Industries	0	0	7	1	3.13

Granite Construction presently has a consensus target price of $76.00, indicating a potential downside of 19.14%. Dycom Industries has a consensus target price of $259.00, indicating a potential upside of 0.95%. Given Dycom Industries’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Dycom Industries is more favorable than Granite Construction.

Profitability

This table compares Granite Construction and Dycom Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Granite Construction	3.07%	21.40%	7.48%
Dycom Industries	4.81%	20.04%	8.22%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

98.3% of Dycom Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of Granite Construction shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of Dycom Industries shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Granite Construction and Dycom Industries”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Granite Construction	$4.01 billion	1.03	$126.35 million	$2.40	39.16
Dycom Industries	$4.70 billion	1.58	$233.41 million	$7.89	32.52

Dycom Industries has higher revenue and earnings than Granite Construction. Dycom Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Granite Construction, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Granite Construction has a beta of 1.32, indicating that its share price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Dycom Industries has a beta of 1.32, indicating that its share price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Dycom Industries beats Granite Construction on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Granite Construction

Granite Construction Incorporated operates as an infrastructure contractor 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 and water-related construction for municipal agencies, commercial water suppliers, industrial facilities, and energy companies; and construction of various complex projects, including infrastructure/site development, mining, public safety, tunnel, solar storage, and power related projects. The Materials segment is involved in the production of aggregates, asphalt concrete, liquid asphalt, and recycled materials production for internal use in our construction projects and sale to third parties. It also offers site preparation, mining, and infrastructure services for residential development, energy development, commercial and industrial sites, railways, residential development, and energy development; and provides construction management professional services. It serves federal agencies, state departments of transportation, local transit authorities, county and city public works departments, school districts and developers, utilities, contractors, landscapers, manufacturers of products requiring aggregate materials, retailers, homeowners, farmers, brokers, and private owners of industrial, commercial, and residential sites. Granite Construction Incorporated was incorporated in 1922 and is headquartered in Watsonville, California.

About Dycom Industries

Dycom Industries, Inc. provides specialty contracting services to the telecommunications infrastructure and utility industries in the United States. The company offers engineering services to telecommunications providers, including the planning and design of aerial, underground, and buried fiber optic, copper, and coaxial cable systems; wireless networks in connection with the deployment of macro cell and new small cell sites; and program and project management and inspection personnel. It also provides construction, maintenance, and installation services for telephone companies and cable multiple system operators, such as placement and splicing of copper, fiber, and coaxial cables; tower construction, lines and antenna installation, foundation and equipment pad construction, and small cell site placement for wireless carriers, as well as equipment installation and material fabrication, and site testing services; underground facility locating services comprising locating telephone, cable television, power, water, sewer, and gas lines; installation and maintenance of customer premise equipment, including digital video recorders, set top boxes, and modems for cable system operators; and construction and maintenance services for electric and gas utilities, and other customers. Dycom Industries, Inc. was incorporated in 1969 and is headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.