Great Lakes Secures Four New Dredging Awards Worth $182 Million

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation’s GLDD has received $182 million worth of several new dredging awards. All the awards included, focus on coastal protection and are either federally or locally funded.GLDD stock gained 1.1% during Thursday’s trading hours, post the announcement of the new awards.More on Great Lakes’ New Dredging AwardsThe newly awarded work highlights four projects including the Manasquan Inlet to Barnegat Inlet Ocean City Beach Renourishment Project, the Myrtle Beach Renourishment Project, the Sagaponack and Bridgehampton Beach Erosion Control District Nourishment Project and the Phipps Ocean Park Beach Nourishment Project.Among the awarded projects of Great Lakes, the Manasquan Inlet to Barnegat Inlet Ocean City Beach Renourishment Project in New Jersey has the largest value of $73.6 million. The project is federally funded and is awarded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia District. The expected start date is the first quarter of 2025 with the completion in the third quarter of 2025.With a value of $72.3 million, the Myrtle Beach Renourishment Project in South Carolina is awarded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District. This federally funded project is expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2025 and finish by the first quarter of 2026.Furthermore, the Sagaponack and Bridgehampton Beach Erosion Control District Nourishment Project in New York has a value of $19.6 million and is locally funded. It is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2025 and end by the next quarter of the year. Lastly, the Phipps Ocean Park Beach Nourishment Project in Florida, worth $16.5 million, is state and locally funded. Offered by the Town of Palm Beach, it is anticipated to start by the end of 2024 and be completed by the first quarter of 2025.Growing Demand for Dredging Services Benefits GLDDThe increased government spending on public infrastructure and enhancement of public services has been faring well for Great Lakes’ growth trajectory as it is supporting a strong bid market. This has resulted in robust demand trends for the company’s dredging services, given that it is one of the top providers of dredging services in the United States.Notably, the company banks on strong domestic dredging operations, high equipment utilization, solid project execution and savings from restructuring. As of the third quarter of 2024, the company’s dredging backlog increased to $1.21 billion from $1.04 billion as of Dec. 31, 2023. Of the reported backlog, 74% was comprised of capital projects. With the reduction in Fed interest rates and increased public funding, the prospects of GLDD remain strong moving into 2025 and beyond.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchShares of this dredging service provider have gained 30.9% in the past six months, outperforming the Zacks Building Products - Heavy Construction industry’s 19.5% growth. We believe the company’s strong bidding ability and project execution, along with improved market conditions, fleet adjustment and cost-reduction initiatives, will boost its performance in 2025 and beyond.GLDD’s Zacks Rank & Key PicksGreat Lakes currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Here are some better-ranked stocks from the Construction sector.Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. STRL presently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 21.5%, on average. Shares of STRL have gained 50.3% in the past six months. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for STRL’s 2025 sales and earnings per share (EPS) implies an increase of 7.3% and 8.1%, respectively, from the prior-year levels.EMCOR Group, Inc. EME currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1. EME delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 32.3%, on average. The stock has gained 21.7% in the past six months.The consensus estimate for EME’s 2025 sales and EPS indicates an increase of 6.6% and 7.2%, respectively, from a year ago.MasTec, Inc. MTZ presently sports a Zacks Rank of 1. MTZ delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 40.2%, on average. The stock has gained 18.3% in the past six months.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MTZ’s 2025 sales and EPS indicates an increase of 8.6% and 45.5%, respectively, from a year ago.Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockIt's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.See This Stock Now for Free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report EMCOR Group, Inc. (EME): Free Stock Analysis Report Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. (STRL): Free Stock Analysis Report Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (GLDD): Free Stock Analysis Report MasTec, Inc. (MTZ): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks