Argan, Inc. $AGX Shares Sold by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP cut its stake in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 29.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 60,616 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 25,176 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Argan were worth $18,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of AGX stock opened at $673.63 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.16 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $602.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $450.16. Argan, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.82 and a fifty-two week high of $748.50.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $1.48. Argan had a net margin of 14.59% and a return on equity of 33.62%. The company had revenue of $262.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $255.32 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Argan, Inc. will post 11.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Argan declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 8th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 22nd. Argan’s payout ratio is 20.53%.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other Argan news, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 4,556 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $539.85, for a total transaction of $2,459,556.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,636 shares in the company, valued at $1,962,894.60. The trade was a 55.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 11,068 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $621.61, for a total transaction of $6,879,979.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 30,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,847,215.20. This trade represents a 26.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 64,543 shares of company stock worth $39,054,956 over the last ninety days. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have 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 Tuesday, March 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $425.40.

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.