52,352 Shares in Argan, Inc. $AGX Bought by Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust

Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 52,352 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,138,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Argan in the third quarter worth approximately $55,000. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new position in Argan during the second quarter valued at approximately $71,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Argan by 1,116.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. grew its position in Argan by 322.2% in the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 380 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Argan Price Performance

AGX stock opened at $380.72 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.02 and a 52-week high of $400.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $340.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $283.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.84 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 22nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Argan’s payout ratio is 23.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James W. Quinn sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.04, for a total value of $328,040.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 11,044 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.15, for a total transaction of $4,187,332.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 49,939 shares in the company, valued at $18,934,371.85. This trade represents a 18.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 31,915 shares of company stock valued at $11,031,594 in the last three months. 6.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Lake Street Capital downgraded shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $260.00 to $325.00 in a report on Friday, December 5th. CJS Securities upgraded Argan to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. UBS Group set a $315.00 price target on Argan in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, December 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Argan presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $355.20.

Argan Company 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.