Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on GVA. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Granite Construction in a report on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $109.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Granite Construction in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research downgraded Granite Construction from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on Granite Construction from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $119.50.

Granite Construction Stock Performance

Shares of GVA opened at $108.05 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a PE ratio of 31.14 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $104.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.65. Granite Construction has a 12-month low of $69.08 and a 12-month high of $112.16.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The construction company reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. Granite Construction had a net margin of 4.31% and a return on equity of 24.04%. Granite Construction’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.05 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Granite Construction will post 5.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Granite Construction

In other news, Director Celeste Beeks Mastin sold 7,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.23, for a total value of $801,221.22. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,073,977.38. The trade was a 42.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Granite Construction

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GVA. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in Granite Construction in the third quarter valued at approximately $213,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Granite Construction in the third quarter worth $512,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Granite Construction during the 3rd quarter valued at $77,000. Caxton Associates LLP raised its holdings in Granite Construction by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 21,390 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,345,000 after buying an additional 3,788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Granite Construction during the 3rd quarter valued at $313,000.

Granite Construction Company Profile

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.