3,150 Shares in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Bought by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH has acquired a new stake in Argan, Inc., purchasing 3,150 shares valued at approximately $413,000.
• Analysts have mixed views on Argan's stock, with Lake Street Capital raising its price target from $150.00 to $236.00, while four analysts have rated the stock as a "hold."
• Argan has recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.375 per share, reflecting a 0.7% dividend yield and a 21.04% payout ratio.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,150 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $413,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AGX. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter worth about $202,000. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Argan by 138.2% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 26,142 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,582,000 after acquiring an additional 15,167 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Argan by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 843,583 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $115,605,000 after purchasing an additional 16,784 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Argan by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 38,084 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,219,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 28,261 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,873,000 after buying an additional 5,855 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AGX. Kepler Capital Markets cut Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Lake Street Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $202.00.

Argan Price Performance

AGX stock traded up $9.72 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $233.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 347,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 486,763. The company's fifty day moving average price is $216.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.81. Argan, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.53 and a twelve month high of $253.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.70 and a beta of 0.59.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 4th. The construction company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $193.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $193.75 million. Argan had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 29.61%. The business's revenue was up 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS.

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 23rd. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In related news, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $1,225,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,553,970. This represents a 25.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director James W. Quinn sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.92, for a total transaction of $8,316,800.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,442,531.44. The trade was a 70.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 96,564 shares of company stock valued at $21,046,366 over the last three months. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Argan Company Profile

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.