Oppenheimer & Close LLC Sells 7,386 Shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (NASDAQ:GLDD)

Oppenheimer & Close LLC cut its holdings in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (NASDAQ:GLDD) by 18.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,901 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 7,386 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Close LLC’s holdings in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock were worth $278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GLDD. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,958,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 259.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 820,397 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,262,000 after acquiring an additional 592,276 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 254.3% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 698,071 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,881,000 after acquiring an additional 501,032 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 40.7% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,615,591 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $18,240,000 after acquiring an additional 467,164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seven Six Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,744,000. 89.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:GLDD opened at $12.01 on Friday. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation has a 52 week low of $7.51 and a 52 week high of $12.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $11.17 and a 200 day moving average of $10.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $815.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.30.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The construction company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $242.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $206.70 million. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 15.72%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, March 14th that permits the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 8.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Great Lakes Dredge & Dock news, Director Ronald Steger sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.59, for a total value of $57,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,482.36. This trade represents a 19.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Eleni Beyko sold 22,579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.26, for a total transaction of $231,660.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 50,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $514,415.88. This represents a 31.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

About Great Lakes Dredge & Dock

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corp. engages in the provision of dredging services. Its projects include channel and port maintenance, channel deepening and port expansion, coastal protection and restoration, as well as land reclamation. The company was founded by William A. Lydon and Frederick C. Drews in 1890 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.