Argan, Inc. $AGX Shares Acquired by California State Teachers Retirement System

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its Argan stake by 22.7% in the first quarter, holding 16,096 shares worth approximately $8.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.43% of AGX.
• Argan reported a strong quarter, with earnings of $3.24 per share versus the $2.31 consensus estimate and revenue of $290.95 million, up 50.2% year over year. The company also authorized a $200 million share-repurchase program.
• Despite institutional buying, insiders sold 127,973 shares worth $87.6 million over the past 90 days, including sizable sales by the CEO and a director. AGX opened at $618.23, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating.

California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 22.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 16,096 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,977 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.12% of Argan worth $8,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AGX. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the first quarter valued at about $692,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Argan by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,274 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,962,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Argan by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 464,759 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $253,131,000 after buying an additional 25,901 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in Argan by 134.4% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 4,914 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,676,000 after acquiring an additional 2,818 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its stake in Argan by 3.3% during the first quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 6,345 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,456,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In related news, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 2,596 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $666.31, for a total transaction of $1,729,740.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,144 shares in the company, valued at $15,421,078.64. The trade was a 10.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 9,993 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $651.22, for a total value of $6,507,641.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,052,056.10. The trade was a 19.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 127,973 shares of company stock worth $87,554,828. 2.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Argan Stock Performance

NYSE:AGX opened at $618.23 on Wednesday. Argan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $197.00 and a 1 year high of $805.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $655.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $562.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.33 and a beta of 0.61.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $290.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.03 million. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The firm's revenue was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 EPS for the current year.

Argan announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 8th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Argan Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on AGX. Zacks Research upgraded Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Lake Street Capital lifted their price target on Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $470.40.

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.

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