Focus Partners Wealth Takes $3.93 Million Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth acquired 29,975 shares of Argan, Inc. valued at approximately $3.93 million, representing 0.22% of the company's stock at the end of the last quarter.
• The construction company reported an EPS of $2.50 for the latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.99, with revenue increasing 4.7% year-over-year.
• Argan has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.38 to $0.50 per share, effective for stockholders on record by October 23rd.

Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 29,975 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $3,932,000. Focus Partners Wealth owned about 0.22% of Argan at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AGX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Argan by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 926,168 shares of the construction company's stock worth $121,485,000 after acquiring an additional 82,585 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Argan by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 517,302 shares of the construction company's stock worth $67,855,000 after acquiring an additional 36,644 shares during the last quarter. Goodlander Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Argan during the 1st quarter worth $18,364,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Argan by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 117,805 shares of the construction company's stock worth $15,452,000 after purchasing an additional 12,854 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Argan by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 114,839 shares of the construction company's stock worth $15,063,000 after purchasing an additional 5,298 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 7,604 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.03, for a total value of $1,688,316.12. Following the sale, the director owned 50,636 shares in the company, valued at $11,242,711.08. The trade was a 13.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $1,225,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 14,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,553,970. This trade represents a 25.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,445 shares of company stock valued at $7,005,991. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Argan Price Performance

Argan stock traded up $1.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $260.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 601,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 415,790. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $227.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $189.81. The company has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.33 and a beta of 0.62. Argan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $93.26 and a 1-year high of $268.00.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 4th. The construction company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.51. Argan had a net margin of 12.73% and a return on equity of 32.61%. The company had revenue of $237.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 23rd. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AGX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, July 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 price objective on the stock. Lake Street Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets cut shares of Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $210.00.

Argan Company Profile

Argan, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, maintenance, project development, and technical consulting services to the power generation market. The company operates through Power Services, Industrial Services, and Telecom Services segments. The Power Services segment offers engineering, procurement, and construction, as well as designing, building, and commissioning of large-scale energy projects to the owners of alternative energy facilities, such as biomass plants, wind farms, and solar fields; and design, construction, project management, start-up, and operation services for projects with approximately 18 gigawatts of power-generating capacity.