Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust Buys Shares of 52,352 Argan, Inc. $AGX

Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 52,352 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,138,000. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust owned 0.38% of Argan as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Argan by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,354 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Delta Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 2.6% during the third quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 4,098 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,107,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Argan by 8.4% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,592 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management grew its holdings in Argan by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 5,277 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,163,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co increased its position in Argan by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 3,275 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $884,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 6,595 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.71, for a total value of $2,068,917.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,461,682.37. This represents a 45.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 11,044 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.15, for a total transaction of $4,187,332.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 49,939 shares in the company, valued at $18,934,371.85. The trade was a 18.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 31,915 shares of company stock valued at $11,031,594 over the last ninety days. 6.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Argan Stock Performance

Argan stock opened at $380.72 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.02 and a 52 week high of $400.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.84 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $340.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $283.21.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $251.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $251.50 million. Argan had a return on equity of 31.38% and a net margin of 13.11%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 22nd. Argan’s payout ratio is 23.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Lake Street Capital lowered Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Glj Research raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $251.00 to $369.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. UBS Group set a $315.00 target price on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, October 13th. CJS Securities upgraded Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Argan has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $355.20.

Argan Company 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.