Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) Position Cut by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in shares of Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,200 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,800 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.17% of Granite Construction worth $3,423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Granite Construction by 2.0% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 10,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $502,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Capstone Asset Management Co. boosted its position in Granite Construction by 9.3% in the first quarter. Capstone Asset Management Co. now owns 5,732 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. First National Bank of Omaha boosted its position in Granite Construction by 48.3% in the first quarter. First National Bank of Omaha now owns 29,948 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,503,000 after buying an additional 9,760 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new position in Granite Construction during the first quarter valued at $290,000. Finally, Peregrine Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Granite Construction by 7.3% in the first quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 513,037 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000,000 after buying an additional 35,065 shares during the period. 93.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) opened at 53.14 on Monday. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 12 month low of $42.59 and a 12 month high of $62.18. The company has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.35 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $49.23 and a 200 day moving average of $50.96.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The construction company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.25. Granite Construction had a return on equity of 4.80% and a net margin of 1.61%. The firm had revenue of $762.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $684.32 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Granite Construction Incorporated will post $1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 30th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 28th. Granite Construction’s payout ratio is 48.60%.

GVA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Granite Construction in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Granite Construction from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 4th. FBR & Co increased their target price on shares of Granite Construction from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Finally, BidaskClub upgraded shares of Granite Construction from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.14.

In other Granite Construction news, Director James Hildebrand Roberts sold 17,442 shares of Granite Construction stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.34, for a total value of $878,030.28. Following the sale, the director now owns 54,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,748,261.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William Howard Powell sold 3,000 shares of Granite Construction stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.60, for a total value of $148,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,472,956.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

About Granite Construction

Granite Construction Incorporated is a heavy civil contractor and construction materials producer in the United States. The Company operates through three segments: Construction, Large Project Construction and Construction Materials. The Company operates across the nation, serving both public and private sector clients.