Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Acquires New Shares in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. (NASDAQ:GLDD)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new position in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. (NASDAQ:GLDD) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 94,718 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harvey Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 3,647,500 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $38,408,000 after acquiring an additional 325,500 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,322,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 217.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 228,121 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,402,000 after purchasing an additional 156,341 shares during the period. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,468,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 60.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 287,248 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,025,000 after buying an additional 108,227 shares during the last quarter. 89.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Christopher Gunsten purchased 3,875 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $7.75 per share, for a total transaction of $30,031.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 61,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $476,873. This trade represents a 6.72 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Price Performance

NASDAQ GLDD opened at $8.70 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $586.04 million, a P/E ratio of 10.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.21. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. has a 1 year low of $6.55 and a 1 year high of $12.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.97.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.06. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 7.51%. The company had revenue of $202.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.20 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. will post 0.69 EPS for the current year.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, March 14th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 8.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Profile

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corp. engages in the provision of dredging services. Its projects include channel and port maintenance, channel deepening and port expansion, coastal protection and restoration, as well as land reclamation. The company was founded by William A. Lydon and Frederick C. Drews in 1890 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.