Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Acquires 906 Shares of Argan, Inc. $AGX

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 28.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,056 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 906 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Argan were worth $894,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AGX. Meritage Portfolio Management raised its position in shares of Argan by 3.0% in the second quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 5,277 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,163,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its stake in Argan by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 18,599 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,440,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Argan in the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Argan by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,253 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $898,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its position in shares of Argan by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 13,598 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,998,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other Argan news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 11,802 shares of the company’s 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. This represents a 23.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.96, for a total value of $4,079,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,467,758.88. This represents a 47.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 106,795 shares of company stock worth $29,401,111 over the last three months. 6.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Argan Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of Argan stock opened at $380.34 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $301.64 and its 200 day moving average is $246.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.25 billion, a PE ratio of 45.71 and a beta of 0.64. Argan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.02 and a 1 year high of $399.30.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 4th. The construction company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.51. Argan had a net margin of 12.73% and a return on equity of 32.61%. The business had revenue of $237.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Argan in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $397.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $220.00 to $315.00 in a report on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Lake Street Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Argan presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $301.00.

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.