Legal & General Group Plc Makes New $16.52 Million Investment in Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 104,510 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,521,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 6,378 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $736,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in Granite Construction by 30.9% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 381 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Granite Construction by 3.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $572,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Granite Construction by 4.5% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,813 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Granite Construction by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,978 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Bradley Jay Williams sold 6,734 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $949,494.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,041 shares in the company, valued at $992,781. This represents a 48.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Carlos M. Hernandez bought 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $123.99 per share, with a total value of $49,596.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $624,041.67. The trade was a 8.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders bought 1,150 shares of company stock valued at $156,636 over the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Granite Construction Stock Performance

Shares of Granite Construction stock opened at $122.71 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $5.37 billion, a PE ratio of -28.47 and a beta of 1.33. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 52 week low of $97.26 and a 52 week high of $162.08. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $130.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $130.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.25 by ($0.09). Granite Construction had a negative net margin of 3.32% and a positive return on equity of 27.83%. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 28.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Granite Construction’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -12.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GVA. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Granite Construction from $139.00 to $119.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Stephens initiated coverage on Granite Construction in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Granite Construction from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised Granite Construction from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Granite Construction to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Granite Construction presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.50.

Granite Construction 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.