Fiducient Advisors LLC Takes Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Fiducient Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,090 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $342,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AGX. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 12.2% during the first 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 holdings in shares of Argan by 118.3% during the first 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 grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 13.4% during the first 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 buying an additional 4,196 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 37.3% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 8,985 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,179,000 after buying an additional 2,442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the second quarter valued at $286,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AGX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Lake Street Capital boosted their target price on Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Freedom Capital upgraded Argan to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Zacks Research downgraded Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Argan has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $425.40.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other news, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,698 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $664.84, for a total transaction of $1,793,738.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,329,680. This represents a 57.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $619.88, for a total value of $495,904.00. Following the sale, the director owned 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $309,940. This trade represents a 61.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 64,543 shares of company stock worth $39,054,956 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AGX opened at $676.30 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $610.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $455.28. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $193.82 and a one year high of $748.50. The company has a market capitalization of $9.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.44 and a beta of 0.61.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $1.48. Argan had a return on equity of 33.62% and a net margin of 14.59%.The firm had revenue of $262.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $255.32 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Argan, Inc. will post 11.44 EPS for the current year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 22nd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is 20.53%.

Argan announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.