Meitav Investment House Ltd. Acquires Shares of 2,000 Argan, Inc. $AGX

Meitav Investment House Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 2,000 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $540,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Argan during the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the 3rd quarter worth about $55,000. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new position in Argan during the second quarter valued at about $71,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Argan by 1,116.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. increased its holdings in Argan by 322.2% during the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 380 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James W. Quinn sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.04, for a total value of $328,040.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 6,595 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.71, for a total transaction of $2,068,917.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,461,682.37. This trade represents a 45.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 18,171 shares of company stock worth $5,816,642 in the last quarter. 6.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Argan Trading Up 16.4%

Argan stock opened at $383.81 on Monday. Argan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $101.02 and a 1-year high of $399.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.21 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $337.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $279.27.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.35. Argan had a return on equity of 31.38% and a net margin of 13.11%.The firm had revenue of $251.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $251.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 22nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. CJS Securities raised shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. 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 objective on the stock. UBS Group set a $315.00 price objective on Argan in a report on Monday, October 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $355.20.

Argan Profile

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.