Cvfg LLC Acquires New Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Cvfg LLC bought a new position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 20,151 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,975,000. Argan comprises approximately 1.4% of Cvfg LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AGX. Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $137,503,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 168.9% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 253,365 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $55,862,000 after purchasing an additional 159,149 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Argan by 172.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 229,893 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $50,687,000 after purchasing an additional 145,516 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Argan in the third quarter worth $34,647,000. Finally, Divisadero Street Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Argan during the third quarter valued at about $33,900,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of AGX stock opened at $660.84 on Wednesday. Argan, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.90 and a fifty-two week high of $805.75. The firm has a market cap of $9.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.07 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $689.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $525.22.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 EPS for the current year.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 23rd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.57%.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 2,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $699.00, for a total transaction of $1,398,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 4,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,411,120. The trade was a 29.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joshua Scott Baugher sold 760 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $733.30, for a total transaction of $557,308.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,084,550.70. The trade was a 33.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 179,663 shares of company stock worth $119,410,408. 6.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on AGX. Lake Street Capital lifted their price objective on Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $470.40.

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.