Cvfg LLC Acquires New Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Cvfg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 20,151 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,975,000. Argan comprises about 1.4% of Cvfg LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Cvfg LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Argan as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 117,805 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,452,000 after buying an additional 12,854 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Argan by 118.3% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,316 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $697,000 after buying an additional 2,881 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Argan by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 35,567 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,665,000 after acquiring an additional 4,196 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Argan by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 8,985 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,179,000 after acquiring an additional 2,442 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Argan during the second quarter worth $286,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Argan news, CFO Joshua Scott Baugher sold 760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $733.30, for a total value of $557,308.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,084,550.70. The trade was a 33.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $699.00, for a total transaction of $1,398,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,880 shares in the company, valued at $3,411,120. The trade was a 29.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 179,663 shares of company stock valued at $119,410,408 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of AGX stock opened at $660.84 on Wednesday. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.90 and a 52-week high of $805.75. The company has a market capitalization of $9.27 billion, a PE ratio of 58.07 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s fifty day moving average is $689.79 and its 200 day moving average is $525.22.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $256.03 million. Argan had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 15.48%.The firm’s revenue was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Argan announced that its board has authorized 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 typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 23rd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is 17.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AGX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Freedom Capital upgraded Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Lake Street Capital upped their price target on Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $470.40.

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.