Diversified Trust Co Takes $683,000 Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Diversified Trust Co has acquired a stake in Argan, Inc. worth approximately $683,000, purchasing 3,098 shares of the construction company's stock.
• Argan recently reported earnings that exceeded analysts' expectations, with an EPS of $2.50 compared to a consensus estimate of $1.99, despite revenue falling short of expectations.
• The company has raised its quarterly dividend to $0.50 per share, up from $0.38, indicating a positive outlook with a payout ratio of 18.03%.

Diversified Trust Co acquired a new stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,098 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $683,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AGX. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Argan by 106.3% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 81,239 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $11,133,000 after buying an additional 41,859 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Argan by 52.0% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,559 shares of the construction company's stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in Argan by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 11,100 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,521,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Argan by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 31,371 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,299,000 after purchasing an additional 1,801 shares during the period. Finally, Cim LLC acquired a new position in Argan in the 4th quarter worth about $286,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Argan in a report on Monday, July 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Glj Research began coverage on Argan in a research note on Monday. They set a "hold" rating and a $251.00 price objective for the company. Lake Street Capital boosted their price objective on Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets lowered Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $220.25.

Argan Stock Up 3.2%

NYSE:AGX opened at $268.99 on Tuesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $228.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $191.86. Argan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.26 and a 52 week high of $269.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.33 and a beta of 0.62.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 4th. The construction company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.51. Argan had a return on equity of 32.61% and a net margin of 12.73%.The company had revenue of $237.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $243.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 23rd. Argan's payout ratio is currently 18.03%.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other Argan news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 7,604 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.03, for a total transaction of $1,688,316.12. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 50,636 shares in the company, valued at $11,242,711.08. This represents a 13.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total value of $1,930,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 21,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,406,734.34. The trade was a 26.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,892 shares of company stock valued at $13,349,949 over the last ninety days. 6.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Argan

Argan, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, maintenance, project development, and technical consulting services to the power generation market. The company operates through Power Services, Industrial Services, and Telecom Services segments. The Power Services segment offers engineering, procurement, and construction, as well as designing, building, and commissioning of large-scale energy projects to the owners of alternative energy facilities, such as biomass plants, wind farms, and solar fields; and design, construction, project management, start-up, and operation services for projects with approximately 18 gigawatts of power-generating capacity.

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