First Trust Advisors LP Sells 242,881 Shares of Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 978,150 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 242,881 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 2.23% of Granite Construction worth $107,254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Granite Construction in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of Granite Construction during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 94.6% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 436 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Granite Construction by 222.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 707 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Granite Construction by 31.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 898 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter.

Granite Construction Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of Granite Construction stock opened at $123.67 on Monday. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 1-year low of $69.08 and a 1-year high of $137.24. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $125.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a PE ratio of 33.79 and a beta of 1.30.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The construction company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Granite Construction had a return on equity of 24.10% and a net margin of 4.36%.The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. Granite Construction’s revenue was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 5.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Granite Construction’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on GVA shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Granite Construction in a research report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Granite Construction from $109.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Granite Construction from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Granite Construction from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Granite Construction from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $139.50.

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.