Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Takes $4.76 Million Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors opened a new position in Argan, buying 15,192 shares worth about $4.76 million in the fourth quarter, according to its latest 13F filing.
• Argan recently posted strong quarterly results, with earnings of $3.24 per share versus the $2.31 estimate and revenue of $290.95 million, up 50.2% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share and a $200 million share buyback program.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but positive overall, with four Buy ratings and four Hold ratings and a consensus Moderate Buy target of $470.40. Despite that, the stock has surged, opening at $687.65 and trading near its 52-week high of $779.00.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 15,192 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $4,760,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC owned about 0.11% of Argan at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AGX. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Argan by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP now owns 185,389 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $58,086,000 after purchasing an additional 37,060 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new stake in Argan during the 4th quarter valued at $137,503,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Argan during the 4th quarter valued at $681,000. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Argan by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 1,359 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Argan by 69.3% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,018 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 826 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on AGX. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research downgraded Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Lake Street Capital lifted their target price on Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, April 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $470.40.

Argan Trading Up 7.2%

AGX opened at $687.65 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $9.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.43 and a beta of 0.59. The company's 50 day moving average is $648.21 and its 200-day moving average is $480.56. Argan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.82 and a 1-year high of $779.00.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for 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 quarterly revenue was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 EPS for the current year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 23rd. Argan's payout ratio is currently 17.57%.

Argan announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 8th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other Argan news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 19,310 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $602.11, for a total value of $11,626,744.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 49,998 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,104,295.78. The trade was a 27.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $628.36, for a total value of $1,885,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,302,380.92. This trade represents a 30.47% 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 64,543 shares of company stock valued at $39,054,956. 6.69% of the stock is owned by 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.

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