Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Stake in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 9.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 926,168 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 82,585 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 6.79% of Argan worth $121,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Argan by 2,987.5% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 247 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its position in Argan by 419.4% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 374 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury bought a new position in Argan during the fourth quarter valued at $138,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Argan by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter worth about $178,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Argan Price Performance

AGX opened at $217.9930 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $218.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.65. The stock has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.57 and a beta of 0.59. Argan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.81 and a 1 year high of $253.79.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 4th. The construction company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $193.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $193.75 million. Argan had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 29.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share.

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AGX shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. Kepler Capital Markets downgraded shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Lake Street Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $202.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In related news, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $1,225,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 14,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,553,970. This represents a 25.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.63, for a total transaction of $617,586.23. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 9,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,180,520.02. This represents a 22.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 96,564 shares of company stock valued at $21,046,366. 6.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Argan Company Profile

Argan, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, maintenance, project development, and technical consulting services to the power generation market. The company operates through Power Services, Industrial Services, and Telecom Services segments. The Power Services segment offers engineering, procurement, and construction, as well as designing, building, and commissioning of large-scale energy projects to the owners of alternative energy facilities, such as biomass plants, wind farms, and solar fields; and design, construction, project management, start-up, and operation services for projects with approximately 18 gigawatts of power-generating capacity.