VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Invests $5.09 Million in Argan, Inc. $AGX

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 6,370 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,087,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Argan by 77,552.2% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 12,498,905 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,981,001,000 after buying an additional 12,482,809 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,764,086,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter valued at $137,503,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Argan by 32.1% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 791,353 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $431,010,000 after acquiring an additional 192,204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Argan during the second quarter worth $131,878,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of AGX stock opened at $437.99 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $558.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $584.91. Argan, Inc. has a twelve month low of $202.25 and a twelve month high of $805.75. The company has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.65, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.57.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The construction company reported $3.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $1.12. Argan had a return on equity of 38.51% and a net margin of 15.09%.The firm had revenue of $383.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 61.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Argan, Inc. will post 13.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AGX has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Argan in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $273.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Argan from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Lake Street Capital upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $437.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In related news, CFO Joshua Baugher sold 760 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,550.70. This trade represents a 33.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman William Griffin, Jr. sold 20,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $760.43, for a total transaction of $15,208,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 40,976 shares in the company, valued at $31,159,379.68. This trade represents a 32.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 127,973 shares of company stock worth $87,554,828 in the last quarter. 2.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.