Argan, Inc. $AGX Shares Bought by First Trust Advisors LP

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Argan by 32.1% in Q1, buying 192,204 additional shares and ending with 791,353 shares worth about $431 million. The fund now owns 5.67% of the company.
• Argan reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.24 beating estimates by $0.93 and revenue of $290.95 million topping forecasts. Revenue rose 50.2% year over year, and the company also raised its full-year EPS outlook.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share and has an authorized $200 million stock buyback plan. Meanwhile, analysts remain generally positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $470.40.

First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 32.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 791,353 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 192,204 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 5.67% of Argan worth $431,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Argan Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Argan stock opened at $603.81 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $676.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $545.45. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.90 and a 12-month high of $805.75. The stock has a market cap of $8.47 billion, a PE ratio of 53.06 and a beta of 0.57.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.93. The business 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Argan's payout ratio is currently 17.57%.

Argan declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 repurchase 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AGX shares. 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. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Argan from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $550.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised 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 assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $470.40.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other Argan news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $699.00, for a total transaction of $1,398,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,411,120. The trade was a 29.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Karen Sweeney sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.00, for a total value of $211,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,091,340. This represents a 16.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 134,105 shares of company stock valued at $91,724,081 in the last 90 days. 2.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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