B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Acquires New Shares in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Institutional interest increased: B. Metzler acquired 2,776 Argan shares valued at approximately $2.2 million, while several other funds also opened new positions. Institutional investors now own 79.43% of the company.
• Strong quarterly performance: Argan reported earnings of $3.24 per share, beating estimates by $0.93, and revenue of $290.95 million, up 50.2% year over year and above expectations.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Argan carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $470.40, while multiple analysts recently downgraded the stock to “Hold.” The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG acquired a new position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,776 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $2,217,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Silvant Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,861,000. Geneva Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Argan in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,676,000. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Argan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $14,788,000. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC purchased a new position in Argan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,795,000. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Argan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,123,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Argan from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Lake Street Capital raised their price objective on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Zacks Research cut shares of Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Argan presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $470.40.

Argan Price Performance

NYSE:AGX opened at $504.36 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $633.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $579.65. The firm has a market cap of $7.07 billion, a PE ratio of 44.32 and a beta of 0.61. Argan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $197.00 and a 1-year high of $805.75.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $290.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.03 million. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 36.89%. Argan's revenue was up 50.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 23rd. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.57%.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In related news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $699.00, for a total value of $1,398,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,411,120. This trade represents a 29.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Joshua Scott Baugher sold 760 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $733.30, for a total transaction of $557,308.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,084,550.70. The trade was a 33.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 127,973 shares of company stock worth $87,554,828 in the last quarter. 2.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Argan

Argan, Inc NYSE: AGX is a holding company that provides professional technical and management services to the power generation and renewable energy industries. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, the company delivers engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM), commissioning and operations and maintenance (O&M) services for a broad range of energy facilities. Argan focuses on projects for utility, industrial and municipally owned clients, helping to bring efficient thermal and renewable energy plants into operation and maintain optimal performance over the asset life cycle.

The company's principal subsidiaries include Gemma Power Systems, which specializes in turnkey construction of combined-cycle, simple-cycle, cogeneration and renewable energy plants; Atlantic Projects Company, which provides electrical balance-of-plant, control systems, instrumentation and commissioning services; and Infrastructure Solutions, which offers industrial maintenance, outage support and modification services.

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