Insider Selling: Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) CEO Sells $876,509.76 in Stock

Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) CEO Kyle Larkin sold 7,314 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.84, for a total value of $876,509.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 181,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,762,224.96. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Granite Construction Stock Performance

NYSE:GVA opened at $116.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.22. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.06 billion, a PE ratio of 31.76 and a beta of 1.30. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 52-week low of $69.08 and a 52-week high of $137.24.

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

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Granite Construction during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 512.8% in the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 239 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Granite Construction in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Granite Construction during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Granite Construction in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000.

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.