Granite Construction Shares Popped: What You Need to Know (GVA)

Granite Construction Shares Popped: What You Need to Know

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Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of heavy-construction firm Granite Construction (NYSE: GVA ) soared today, up as much as 19.8% on heavy trading.

So what: Third-quarter revenue fell short of analyst targets, but $0.93 of earnings per share totally crushed the $0.70 consensus estimate. Demand for Granite's array of construction materials was weak but plenty of large construction projects rolled along very smoothly.

Now what: The order backlog is getting fat, and so are gross margins. Infrastructure projects are a whole different animal than consumer housing, which explains how Granite, Fluor (NYSE: FLR ) , and Chicago Bridge & Iron (NYSE: CBI ) can thrive even in this seemingly impossible economy. Given this rock-steady performance, it's hard not to see deep value in the whole construction industry right now.

Interested in more info about Granite Construction? Click here to add it to My Watchlist.

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Fool contributor Anders Bylund holds no position in any of the companies mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinion, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Check out Anders' holdings and bio, or follow him on Twitter and Google+. We have a disclosure policy.

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