Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. (NASDAQ:GLDD) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $11.61, but opened at $11.00. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock shares last traded at $11.41, with a volume of 176,812 shares.

The construction company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.05). Great Lakes Dredge & Dock had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 10.05%. The company had revenue of $191.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $180.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.09) earnings per share.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on GLDD shares. StockNews.com downgraded Great Lakes Dredge & Dock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Noble Financial raised their price objective on Great Lakes Dredge & Dock from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd.

Insider Transactions at Great Lakes Dredge & Dock

In other news, CEO Lasse Petterson sold 53,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.06, for a total value of $487,165.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 987,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,949,087.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 128,990 shares of company stock valued at $1,174,747 in the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GLDD. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,192,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,057,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,823,000. Bfsg LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 1,465.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 185,035 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after buying an additional 173,215 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 379.3% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 208,218 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,828,000 after purchasing an additional 164,780 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.11% of the company’s stock.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Trading Up 7.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a 50 day moving average of $10.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.52. The stock has a market cap of $837.19 million, a PE ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.13.

About Great Lakes Dredge & Dock

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation provides dredging services in the United States. The company engages in capital dredging that consists of port expansion projects; coastal restoration and land reclamations; trench digging for pipelines, tunnels, and cables; and other dredging related to the construction of breakwaters, jetties, canals, and other marine structures.