New York State Teachers Retirement System Has $7.22 Million Holdings in Granite Construction Incorporated $GVA

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its stake in shares of Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) by 10.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 60,251 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 6,814 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Granite Construction were worth $7,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP boosted its stake in Granite Construction by 569.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP now owns 1,339,818 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $151,064,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139,818 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 262.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 647,589 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $74,699,000 after buying an additional 469,079 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Granite Construction by 254.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 503,906 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $58,126,000 after buying an additional 361,741 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Granite Construction in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,405,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in Granite Construction by 87.5% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 556,054 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $60,971,000 after acquiring an additional 259,477 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Bradley Jay Williams sold 6,734 shares of Granite Construction stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $992,781. This trade represents a 48.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michael G. Tatusko sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $1,057,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 29,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,199,967. The trade was a 20.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on GVA. Stephens initiated coverage on Granite Construction in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Granite Construction from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Granite Construction in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Granite Construction from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Granite Construction to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Granite Construction currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $157.25.

Granite Construction Stock Down 2.4%

GVA traded down $3.60 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $144.81. 34,119 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 703,961. The stock has a market cap of $6.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.79 and a beta of 1.29. Granite Construction Incorporated has a twelve month low of $89.80 and a twelve month high of $162.08. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $140.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.77) by $1.03. Granite Construction had a return on equity of 24.90% and a net margin of 3.99%.The firm had revenue of $912.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $782.26 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 6.14 EPS for the current year.

Granite Construction Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Granite Construction’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.99%.

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.