Argan, Inc. $AGX Shares Bought by UBS Group AG

UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 41.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 152,721 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,837 shares during the period. UBS Group AG’s holdings in Argan were worth $47,851,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AGX. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust bought a new position in Argan in the 3rd quarter worth about $14,138,000. Thames Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the third quarter worth approximately $11,175,000. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the third quarter worth approximately $971,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Argan by 125.3% in the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,505 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,377,000 after buying an additional 6,955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,629,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Price Performance

NYSE AGX opened at $729.79 on Thursday. Argan, Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.00 and a 12 month high of $742.30. The company has a market capitalization of $10.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.93 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $539.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $412.44.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $1.48. The firm had revenue of $262.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $255.32 million. Argan had a net margin of 14.59% and a return on equity of 33.62%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Argan, Inc. will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 22nd. Argan’s payout ratio is presently 20.53%.

Argan announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 8th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Lake Street Capital raised their price target on Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 11,068 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $621.61, for a total transaction of $6,879,979.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 30,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,847,215.20. The trade was a 26.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 4,556 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $539.85, for a total value of $2,459,556.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,962,894.60. This trade represents a 55.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 64,543 shares of company stock worth $39,054,956. Corporate insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

About Argan

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.