Argan, Inc. $AGX Stake Lessened by Emerald Advisers LLC

Emerald Advisers LLC lowered its position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 95,272 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,800 shares during the period. Argan comprises about 1.6% of Emerald Advisers LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Emerald Advisers LLC owned 0.68% of Argan worth $51,890,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in Argan by 2,950.0% in the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Argan during the 1st quarter valued at about $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Stock Down 4.7%

AGX stock opened at $600.81 on Tuesday. Argan, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.90 and a twelve month high of $805.75. The stock has a market cap of $8.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.80 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $689.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $534.23.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.60 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 50.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Argan declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 8th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Argan Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $699.00, for a total transaction of $1,398,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,880 shares in the company, valued at $3,411,120. This trade represents a 29.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joshua Scott Baugher sold 760 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $733.30, for a total transaction of $557,308.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,550.70. This trade represents a 33.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 171,219 shares of company stock valued at $114,356,759. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Lake Street Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Argan presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.