The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) Stock

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) had its price objective raised by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $110.00 to $124.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sell” rating on the construction company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group‘s target price points to a potential downside of 4.83% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Granite Construction from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Granite Construction from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Granite Construction from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $159.75.

Granite Construction Price Performance

Shares of GVA stock traded up $6.68 on Monday, reaching $130.30. The company had a trading volume of 308,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 722,520. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.75 billion, a PE ratio of -20.92 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The business’s 50-day moving average is $115.79 and its 200 day moving average is $126.39. Granite Construction has a one year low of $97.26 and a one year high of $162.08.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The construction company reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.54. Granite Construction had a negative net margin of 4.99% and a positive return on equity of 33.79%. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.98 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Granite Construction will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Granite Construction

In other news, Director Carlos M. Hernandez bought 400 shares of Granite Construction stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $123.99 per share, for a total transaction of $49,596.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 5,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $624,041.67. This represents a 8.63% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Granite Construction

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hill City Capital LP acquired a new stake in Granite Construction in the 2nd quarter valued at $175,508,004. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 52.8% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,397,573 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $167,541,000 after buying an additional 483,080 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 0.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,067,545 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $127,969,000 after buying an additional 4,327 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 39.0% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 228,163 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $36,068,000 after buying an additional 64,007 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Granite Construction by 8.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 287,744 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $34,495,000 after acquiring an additional 22,162 shares in the last quarter.

Granite Construction Company Profile

Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) is an infrastructure construction company that provides engineering, construction and rehabilitation services for public and private-sector clients. The company’s work supports transportation, water and other essential infrastructure projects across the United States.

Granite’s transportation activities include the construction and maintenance of highways, roads, bridges, airports, rail systems and other transit facilities. Its water-related services include the development and improvement of water treatment and distribution systems, wastewater facilities, dams, pipelines and related infrastructure.