Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Increases Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 67.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,165 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,270 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Argan were worth $855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AGX. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Argan by 12.2% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 117,805 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,452,000 after purchasing an additional 12,854 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Argan by 118.3% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,316 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 2,881 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Argan by 13.4% in the 1st 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 increased its stake in shares of Argan by 37.3% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 8,985 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,179,000 after acquiring an additional 2,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter worth $220,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price target (up from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Lake Street Capital downgraded shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Zacks Research cut shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Argan in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Finally, CJS Securities raised shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $355.20.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of AGX opened at $462.54 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $373.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $319.58. The stock has a market cap of $6.42 billion, a PE ratio of 54.48 and a beta of 0.57. Argan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $101.02 and a 1-year high of $469.88.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 22nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.56%.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other news, Director James W. Quinn sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.04, for a total value of $328,040.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 6,595 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.71, for a total transaction of $2,068,917.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,461,682.37. This trade represents a 45.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 55,915 shares of company stock worth $20,182,794 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

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.