Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $7.74 Million Stock Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 84.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,664 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 13,109 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.21% of Argan worth $7,741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new position in shares of Argan in the third quarter valued at approximately $426,000. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its stake in Argan by 1.7% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 24,833 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,706,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in Argan in the third quarter worth $286,000. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 1.9% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,036 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,090,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of Argan by 22.0% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 255 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AGX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price target (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, December 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Argan in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $397.00 target price on the stock. Glj Research raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $251.00 to $369.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. CJS Securities raised Argan to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Lake Street Capital cut Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $260.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $355.20.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of Argan stock opened at $411.03 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $344.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $300.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.41 and a beta of 0.63. Argan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.02 and a 52 week high of $449.90.

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

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 22nd were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 22nd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other news, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.78, for a total value of $1,803,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,955,509.76. The trade was a 37.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 6,595 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 7,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,461,682.37. This represents a 45.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 55,915 shares of company stock worth $20,182,794 over the last ninety days. 6.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.