UBS Group AG Boosts Stock Holdings in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• UBS boosted its stake in Argan by 41.6% to 152,721 shares (worth ~$47.85M), leaving institutional investors owning 79.43% of the company.
• Corporate insiders have been selling heavily: CEO Charles Collins sold 11,068 shares (~$6.88M) and insiders sold 64,543 shares (~$39.05M) over the last quarter, with insiders now holding 6.69% of the stock.
• Argan reported a strong quarter (EPS $3.47 vs. $1.99 expected; revenue +12.7% YoY), and its board authorized a $200M buyback (~2.5% of shares) while maintaining a $0.50 quarterly dividend.

UBS Group AG raised its position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 41.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 152,721 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 44,837 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned 1.10% of Argan worth $47,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Argan in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in Argan during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Argan by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 147 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Argan news, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 11,068 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $621.61, for a total value of $6,879,979.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 30,320 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,847,215.20. This trade represents a 26.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 3,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $628.36, for a total value of $1,885,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,302,380.92. The trade was a 30.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 64,543 shares of company stock valued at $39,054,956 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

Argan Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE:AGX opened at $729.79 on Thursday. The business's 50 day moving average is $539.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $412.44. Argan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.00 and a 52 week high of $742.30. The company has a market cap of $10.18 billion, a PE ratio of 74.93 and a beta of 0.61.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $1.48. The business had revenue of $262.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $255.32 million. Argan had a return on equity of 33.62% and a net margin of 14.59%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Argan, Inc. will post 11.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Argan announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 22nd. Argan's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AGX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Argan to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Argan from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $550.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Lake Street Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $425.40.

Argan Company Profile

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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