Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases Shares of 205,670 Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. (NASDAQ:GLDD)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. (NASDAQ:GLDD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 205,670 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,322,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock during the 4th quarter valued at $69,000. Passumpsic Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock during the fourth quarter valued at $135,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock during the third quarter valued at about $147,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock in the third quarter worth about $157,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock by 204.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 14,973 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 10,055 shares in the last quarter. 89.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Christopher Gunsten acquired 3,875 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $7.75 per share, with a total value of $30,031.25. Following the purchase, the senior vice president now 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Stock Performance

GLDD opened at $8.84 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $594.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. has a 1-year low of $6.55 and a 1-year high of $12.89. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $9.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.96.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $202.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.20 million. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 13.72%. Research analysts predict that Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. will post 0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, March 14th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 8.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.