Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $16.40 Million Stock Position in Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 206,825 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 12,297 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.47% of Granite Construction worth $16,397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Granite Construction by 99.3% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,569,319 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $159,221,000 after buying an additional 1,280,288 shares during the period. Hill City Capital LP increased its stake in shares of Granite Construction by 5.2% in the third quarter. Hill City Capital LP now owns 978,938 shares of the construction company's stock worth $77,610,000 after acquiring an additional 48,440 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Granite Construction by 3.2% during the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 604,950 shares of the construction company's stock worth $47,960,000 after acquiring an additional 18,586 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC boosted its position in Granite Construction by 2.5% during the third quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 596,158 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $47,263,000 after purchasing an additional 14,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hood River Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Granite Construction in the second quarter valued at about $29,143,000.

Granite Construction Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Granite Construction stock traded down $1.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $89.10. 333,228 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 545,518. The company has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.87 and a beta of 1.41. Granite Construction Incorporated has a 52 week low of $43.92 and a 52 week high of $105.20. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $92.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The construction company reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.46). Granite Construction had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 2.80%. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.69 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Granite Construction Incorporated will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Granite Construction Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Granite Construction's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Granite Construction from $61.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th.

Granite Construction Company Profile

Granite Construction Incorporated operates as an infrastructure contractor in the United States. It operates through two segments: Construction and Materials segments. The Construction segment engages in the construction and rehabilitation of roads, pavement preservation, bridges, rail lines, airports, marine ports, dams, reservoirs, aqueducts, infrastructure, and site development for use by the public and water-related construction for municipal agencies, commercial water suppliers, industrial facilities, and energy companies; and construction of various complex projects, including infrastructure/site development, mining, public safety, tunnel, solar storage, and power related projects.