Leavell Investment Management Inc. Grows Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 30.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,550 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Argan were worth $1,224,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Argan by 26.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,977 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $522,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares during the period. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Argan during the 1st quarter worth $667,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its position in Argan by 810.0% during the 1st quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 69,184 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,075,000 after purchasing an additional 61,581 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Argan in the first quarter valued at $551,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 273.0% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 68,628 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,226,000 after buying an additional 50,230 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Argan Price Performance

AGX opened at $297.03 on Monday. Argan, Inc. has a 12 month low of $101.02 and a 12 month high of $320.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.70 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $252.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $217.54.

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

Argan Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be issued 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 23rd. Argan’s payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AGX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Lake Street Capital lifted their target price on Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. UBS Group set a $315.00 target price on Argan in a report on Monday, October 13th. Glj Research assumed coverage on Argan in a report on Monday, September 22nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $251.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Monday, October 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $258.20.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 6,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.39, for a total transaction of $1,911,474.27. Following the sale, the director owned 9,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,913,577.83. The trade was a 39.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.09, for a total value of $2,920,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 21,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,135,642.54. This represents a 32.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 119,520 shares of company stock valued at $32,464,470 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

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.