Argan, Inc. $AGX Shares Sold by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 88.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 623 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 4,840 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Argan were worth $339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In related news, Director Karen Sweeney sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 2,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $699.00, for a total value of $1,398,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,411,120. This represents a 29.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 134,105 shares of company stock worth $91,724,081. Corporate insiders own 2.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Lake Street Capital increased their target price on Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a 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, Argan presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $470.40.

Argan Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE AGX opened at $603.81 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.06 and a beta of 0.57. Argan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.90 and a 52 week high of $805.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $676.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $545.45.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its earnings results 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. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The company had revenue of $290.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 50.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Argan’s payout ratio is 17.57%.

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.