Nuveen LLC Acquires New Holdings in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 75,920 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,958,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.56% of Argan as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Argan by 2,987.5% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 247 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in shares of Argan by 419.4% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 374 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury purchased a new stake in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $138,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Argan by 12.7% during the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Argan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $178,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on AGX shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Kepler Capital Markets downgraded Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Argan in a report on Monday, July 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $220.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Lake Street Capital increased their price target on Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $202.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 7,604 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.03, for a total transaction of $1,688,316.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 50,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,242,711.08. This trade represents a 13.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 5,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $1,225,000.00. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 96,564 shares of company stock valued at $21,046,366. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Argan Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of AGX stock opened at $222.3430 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.81 and a fifty-two week high of $253.79. The stock has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.18 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $218.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.28.

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

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is currently 21.04%.

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.