US Bancorp DE Has $748,000 Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE has reduced its position in Argan, Inc. by 28.6% during the second quarter, now holding shares valued at $748,000.
• Argan's recent quarterly earnings surpassed estimates with an EPS of $2.50 compared to analysts’ expectation of $1.99, despite revenue falling short at $237.74 million.
• The company plans to increase its quarterly dividend from $0.38 to $0.50 per share, reflecting a rise in its annualized yield to 0.7%.

US Bancorp DE lowered its position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 28.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,392 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 1,358 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE's holdings in Argan were worth $748,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AGX. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 362.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,969 shares of the construction company's stock worth $652,000 after buying an additional 3,894 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 26.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,977 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Argan by 273.0% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 68,628 shares of the construction company's stock worth $9,226,000 after acquiring an additional 50,230 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Argan by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 69,394 shares of the construction company's stock worth $9,585,000 after acquiring an additional 10,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Argan by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,756 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,067,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 11,802 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.73, for a total value of $3,242,363.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 38,834 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,668,864.82. The trade was a 23.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James W. Quinn sold 13,444 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.12, for a total value of $3,618,049.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 49,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,340,278.40. The trade was a 21.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 111,027 shares of company stock worth $29,968,996. Corporate insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AGX. Lake Street Capital boosted their target price on shares of Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Argan from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $220.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Monday, October 13th. UBS Group set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $258.20.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of Argan stock opened at $283.25 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $247.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.58. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.02 and a 52-week high of $320.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.04 and a beta of 0.64.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Increases Dividend

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

Argan 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.

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