Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Has $65.48 Million Stake in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 696.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 296,988 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 259,720 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Argan were worth $65,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AGX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Argan by 9.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 926,168 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $121,485,000 after purchasing an additional 82,585 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Argan by 7.6% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 517,302 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $67,855,000 after acquiring an additional 36,644 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Argan by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 314,453 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $69,339,000 after purchasing an additional 11,788 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in Argan by 1,142.2% in the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 188,665 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,597,000 after purchasing an additional 173,477 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 2.2% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 174,533 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $38,481,000 after buying an additional 3,762 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In related news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 11,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 38,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,668,864.82. This represents a 23.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.96, for a total transaction of $4,079,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,428 shares in the company, valued at $4,467,758.88. This represents a 47.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 106,795 shares of company stock valued at $29,401,111. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of AGX stock opened at $356.25 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $101.02 and a fifty-two week high of $399.30. The firm has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.82 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $314.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $254.01.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.35. Argan had a return on equity of 32.61% and a net margin of 12.73%.The company had revenue of $251.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $251.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 23rd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. UBS Group set a $315.00 price target on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Zacks Research cut shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 target price (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Argan in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $397.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.17.

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.