Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 31,099 Shares of Argan, Inc. $AGX

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 26.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 86,774 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 31,099 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Argan were worth $49,581,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in Argan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $137,503,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Argan by 168.9% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 253,365 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $55,862,000 after purchasing an additional 159,149 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Argan by 172.5% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 229,893 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $50,687,000 after purchasing an additional 145,516 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,647,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Argan by 320.0% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 153,115 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,349,000 after purchasing an additional 116,657 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other news, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $760.43, for a total value of $15,208,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 40,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,159,379.68. This represents a 32.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $699.00, for a total value of $1,398,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,880 shares in the company, valued at $3,411,120. This trade represents a 29.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 151,309 shares of company stock valued at $102,366,655. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Argan Price Performance

AGX stock opened at $548.54 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $679.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $539.85. The stock has a market cap of $7.69 billion, a PE ratio of 48.20 and a beta of 0.57. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $196.90 and a one year high of $805.75.

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

Argan declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 8th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AGX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $470.40.

About Argan

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.