Should I Buy GLDD? GLDD 2026 Analysis

Should You Buy Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corp (GLDD) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Conclusion

Buy

Latest Price

15.580

1 Day change

4.63%

52 Week Range

16.720

Analysis Updated At

2026/02/04

Should I buy Analysis is updated weekly. For real time "Should I Buy" analysis, please sign up to get free answers.

Buy now: trend structure is still bullish (short/medium/long MAs stacked up) and Wall Street is pricing a multi-year upcycle.
The stock pulled back (~3% regular session) to just above first support (S1 14.731), offering a reasonable “buy-the-dip” entry for an impatient buyer.
Near-term catalyst: QDEC 2025 earnings on 2026-02-17 (pre-market) can re-rate the stock quickly if backlog/margins confirm the upcycle.

Technical Analysis

Trend: Bullish moving-average stack (SMA_5 > SMA_20 > SMA_200) suggests the primary trend remains up.
Momentum: MACD histogram is negative (-0.0228) and worsening, indicating short-term momentum has turned down despite the broader uptrend.
RSI: RSI_6 at 48.38 is neutral—no overbought/oversold edge.
Levels: Price (~14.99) is below pivot (15.529); key nearby support S1 14.731 then S2 14.238. Overhead resistance R1 16.328.
Pattern-based odds: Similar-pattern stats imply mild downside next day (-0.49%) but a positive next-week bias (+1.87%).

Options Data

Bullish

Open Interest Put-Call Ratio

Bullish

Option Volume Put-Call Ratio

Positioning is strongly call-skewed (OI P/C 0.08; volume P/C 0.01), signaling bullish sentiment/speculation.
Options activity is elevated vs normal (today volume vs 30D avg: 12.96x; today OI vs avg: 150.57), consistent with rising attention into an upcoming catalyst.
Implied vol is rich (30D IV 64.76 vs HV 47.18; IV percentile 90.84), suggesting the market is pricing a larger-than-usual move (often around earnings).

Technical Summary

Sell

Buy

Positive Catalysts

- Earnings catalyst: QDEC 2025 report on 2026-02-17 pre-market; a beat or strong backlog/margin commentary could drive a fast upside move.
- Analyst narrative: “multi-year upcycle” supported by government infrastructure spending, ~$1B backlog, and expansion into offshore energy.
- Technical structure still supports upside continuation if price holds above the 14.7–14.2 support zone and reclaims the 15.53 pivot.

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

- Short-term momentum is deteriorating (MACD negative and expanding), raising the risk of a further dip toward 14.73 / 14.24 before any sustained rebound.
- Elevated implied volatility increases the probability of sharp pre-earnings swings and a potential post-earnings disappointment move.
- No supportive near-term news flow in the past week to counter the current pullback.

Financial Performance

Latest reported quarter: 2025/Q3.
Revenue: $195.2M, +2.11% YoY (modest top-line growth).
Profitability inflection: Net income $17.7M, +100.23% YoY; EPS $0.26, +100% YoY.
Margins improving: Gross margin 22.42, +18.31% YoY—supports the “upcycle/margin expansion” thesis.

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

Recent trend: Upward revisions and new bullish coverage.
2026-01-22: JPMorgan initiated Overweight with a $20 PT (~35% upside cited), highlighting a multi-year upcycle, record infrastructure spend, ~$1B backlog, and offshore energy expansion.
2026-01-29: Noble Capital reiterated Outperform and raised PT to $17 from $14, citing strong backlog and operating environment.
Wall Street pros: clear backlog-driven visibility, infrastructure tailwinds, and potential margin expansion.
Wall Street cons (implied): execution/earnings risk into the upcoming report and near-term momentum softness after the recent pullback.

1 Analyst Rating

Wall Street analysts forecast GLDD stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for GLDD is 14 USD with a low forecast of 14 USD and a high forecast of 14 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.

1 Buy

0 Hold

0 Sell

Moderate Buy

Current: 14.890

Low

Averages

High

Current: 14.890

Low

Averages

High

Noble Capital

Joe Gomes

Outperform

maintain

$14 -> $17

AI Analysis

2026-01-29

Reason

Noble Capital

Joe Gomes

Price Target

$14 -> $17

AI Analysis

2026-01-29

maintain

Outperform

Reason

Noble Capital analyst Joe Gomes raised the firm's price target on Great Lakes Dredge to $17 from $14 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm believes the company's strong backlog should provide ongoing work and that strong operating environment will continue, providing upside potential.

JPMorgan

Tomohiko Sano

Overweight

initiated

$20

2026-01-22

Reason

JPMorgan

Tomohiko Sano

Price Target

$20

2026-01-22

initiated

Overweight

Reason

JPMorgan analyst Tomohiko Sano initiated coverage of Great Lakes Dredge with an Overweight rating and $20 price target, reflecting 35% upside. Great Lakes is the largest dredging contractor in the U.S. and is entering a "multi-year upcycle" driven by record government infrastructure spending, a $1B backlog, and expansion into offshore energy, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says the company's modernized fleet and offshore energy will support above-peer growth and margin expansion.

Unlock Full Analyst Thesis， Get the complete breakdown of rating reason for GLDD

Unlock Now

GLDD Should I Buy

GLDD Should I Buy

Should You Buy Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corp (GLDD) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Technical Analysis

Options Data

Technical Summary

Positive Catalysts

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

Financial Performance

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

People Also Watch