Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Lowers Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC cut its stake in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 26.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,774 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 31,099 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned about 0.62% of Argan worth $49,581,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AGX. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new position in Argan in the fourth quarter worth $478,000. Covenant Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter valued at $2,748,000. Thames Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Argan by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC now owns 51,794 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $16,228,000 after purchasing an additional 10,411 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter worth $5,574,000. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the 1st quarter worth $1,728,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AGX opened at $548.54 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $196.90 and a one year high of $805.75. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $679.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $539.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.69 billion, a PE ratio of 48.20 and a beta of 0.57.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.03 million. Argan had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 15.48%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Argan’s payout ratio is 17.57%.

Argan declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Lake Street Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Argan currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $470.40.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other news, Director Karen Sweeney sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.00, for a total value of $211,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,091,340. This trade represents a 16.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 value of $557,308.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,084,550.70. This trade represents a 33.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 151,309 shares of company stock worth $102,366,655 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

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.