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Bear Of The Day: Granite Construction (GVA)

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Granite Construction (GVA - Free Report) is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) has seen earnings estimates slide lower recently.  I wanted to flag this com[any as we are seeing most stocks with decreases in this year also seeing decreases in estimates for next year. This article will look at why this stock is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) as it is the Bear of the Day.

Description

Granite Construction Incorporated operates as an infrastructure contractor and a construction materials producer in the United States. The company 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. The Materials segment is involved in the production of aggregates and asphalt for internal use, as well as for sale to third parties. It also focuses on water-related construction for municipal agencies, commercial water suppliers, industrial facilities, and energy companies; and constructs various complex projects, including infrastructure/site development, mining, public safety, tunnel, solar, and power projects. In addition, the company offers site preparation, mining, and infrastructure services for residential development, energy development, commercial and industrial sites, and other facilities; and provides construction management professional services. It serves federal agencies, state departments of transportation, local transit authorities, county and city public works departments, school districts and developers, utilities, contractors, landscapers, manufacturers of products requiring aggregate materials, retailers, homeowners, farmers, brokers, and private owners of industrial, commercial, and residential sites. The company was incorporated in 1922 and is headquartered in Watsonville, California.

Earnings History

When I look at a stock, the first thing I do is look to see if the company is beating the number.  This tells me right away where the market’s expectations have been for the company and how management has communicated to the market.  A stock that consistently beats has management communicating expectations to Wall Street that can be achieved.  That is what you want to see.

In the case of GVA, I see two  beats and two misses of the Zacks Consensus Estimate.  This alone does not make the stock a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and it doesn’t make it a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) either.

The Zacks Rank does care about the earnings history, but it is much more heavily influenced by the movement of earnings estimates.

Earnings Estimates

The Zacks Rank tells us which stocks are seeing earnings estimates move higher or in this case lower.  For GVA I see annual estimates moving lower of late.

The current fiscal year consensus number moved lower from $2.96 to $2.55 over the last 7 days. 

The next year has not moved from $4.04.  over the last 60 days.

Negative movement in earnings estimates like that is why this stock is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

It should be noted that a majority of stocks in the Zacks universe are seeing negative earnings estimate revisions.  That means that the stocks that are seeing small but negative earnings estimate revisions are falling to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).


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