Argan, Inc. $AGX Position Boosted by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its Argan stake by 1.3% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 397,962 shares valued at about $216.7 million. Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the stock.
• Argan posted strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.24 versus expectations of $2.31 and revenue of $290.95 million, up 50.2% year over year. Analysts now have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a target price of $470.40.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share and authorized a $200 million share repurchase plan. Meanwhile, CEO David Hibbert Watson and another director recently sold shares, and insiders have sold $91.7 million worth of stock over the past 90 days.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 397,962 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,954 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 2.85% of Argan worth $216,728,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AGX. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 2,950.0% during the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Lake Street Capital increased 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. 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 research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded 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 given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $470.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In related news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 9,993 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $651.22, for a total value of $6,507,641.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,005 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,052,056.10. This trade represents a 19.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,698 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $664.84, for a total value of $1,793,738.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,329,680. This trade represents a 57.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 134,105 shares of company stock worth $91,724,081 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.99% of the company's stock.

Argan Trading Down 1.4%

Argan stock opened at $601.55 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $197.00 and a 1-year high of $805.75. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $671.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $549.49. The company has a market capitalization of $8.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.86 and a beta of 0.57.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.93. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The firm had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $256.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.60 earnings per share. Argan's revenue for the quarter was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

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

Argan declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 8th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Argan 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AGX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.