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Great Lakes Wins $219M Firm-Fixed-Price Defense Contract

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Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (GLDD - Free Report) has been awarded a $219.1 million firm-fixed-price contract for the Sabine-Neches Waterway Channel Improvement Project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville, FL.  

The project will be carried out in Port Arthur, TX. It is expected to be completed by March 2027. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Galveston is managing the contract.

On Sept. 23, the stock moved up 2.4% in the day trading session.

Contract Wins to Strengthen Growth and Backlog for GLDD

Great Lakes is the largest provider of dredging services in the United States. The company mainly banks on strong domestic dredging operations, high equipment utilization, solid project execution and savings from restructuring.

On Aug. 26, GLDD announced multiple dredging contracts valued at $256.2 million. These include the Mobile Harbor Deepening and Widening Project in Alabama, the Port Everglades Sand Bypass Project in Florida and the Long Beach Island Beach Renourishment Project in New Jersey. Additional contracts cover the Fire Island Inlet Dredging Project, the North Wildwood Beach Renourishment Project and the St. Lucie Inlet Maintenance Dredging Project. Along with these contracts, the company has approximately $318 million in low bids and options pending award, bringing the potential total pipeline of work to more than $1.2 billion. (Read More: Great Lakes Secures Multiple Dredging Contracts for $256M.)

GLDD continued to bid on projects and build a solid backlog for the second quarter. Great Lakes ended the second quarter with $807.9 million in dredging backlog compared with $1.04 billion at 2023-end. Of the reported backlog, capital projects comprised 71.2%.

Price Performance of GLDD Stock

Zacks Investment Research
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Shares of Great Lakes have gained 20.9% in the past three months compared with the Zacks Building Products - Heavy Construction industry’s growth of 14.8%. The company is benefiting from securing multiple dredging contracts, which contribute to a solid project pipeline and backlog.

It expects the dredging bid market to remain robust for the remainder of 2024. 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 2024 and beyond.

GLDD’s Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

GLDD currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Some other top-ranked stocks from the Zacks Construction sector are:

Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. (STRL - Free Report) carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Sterling Infrastructure has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 17.4%, on average. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for STRL’s 2024 sales and earnings per share (EPS) indicates a rise of 9.7% and 26.6%, respectively, from the prior-year levels.

Howmet Aerospace Inc. (HWM - Free Report) presently sports a Zacks Rank #1. HWM has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 10.9%, on average.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HWM’s 2024 sales and EPS indicates a rise of 12.6% and 40.8%, respectively, from the prior-year levels.

M-tron Industries, Inc. (MPTI - Free Report) currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. It has topped earnings estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, with an average surprise of 9.2%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MPTI’s 2024 sales and EPS indicates a rise of 16.1% and 76.6%, respectively, from prior-year levels.

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