Nomura Holdings Inc. Raises Stake in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Nomura Holdings Inc. significantly increased its stake in Argan, Inc. by 810.0% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 0.51% of the company, valued at $9,075,000.
• Argan's shares have recently experienced changes in analyst ratings, with Wall Street Zen downgrading from "buy" to "hold" and a consensus "hold" rating from analysts with an average target price of $202.00.
• Argan reported strong recent quarterly earnings of $1.60 per share, surpassing estimates, with revenue of $193.66 million, marking a 22.8% increase year-over-year.

Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 810.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 69,184 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 61,581 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.51% of Argan worth $9,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goodlander Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the 1st quarter worth $18,364,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the 1st quarter worth $109,000. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 258.0% in the 1st quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 101,181 shares of the construction company's stock worth $13,272,000 after acquiring an additional 72,922 shares during the period. Next Century Growth Investors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the 1st quarter worth $6,708,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 1,118.6% in the 1st quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 5,057 shares of the construction company's stock worth $663,000 after acquiring an additional 4,642 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AGX. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, July 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. Kepler Capital Markets downgraded shares of Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Lake Street Capital increased their price target on shares of Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $202.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 15,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.47, for a total transaction of $3,307,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 33,428 shares in the company, valued at $7,369,871.16. The trade was a 30.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 7,604 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.03, for a total transaction of $1,688,316.12. Following the sale, the director owned 50,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,242,711.08. This trade represents a 13.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 96,564 shares of company stock worth $21,046,366 in the last three months. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

Argan Stock Performance

NYSE:AGX traded up $11.58 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $238.61. 659,100 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 427,125. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $222.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.51. Argan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.81 and a 1 year high of $253.79. The company has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of 33.47 and a beta of 0.62.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 4th. The construction company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.51. Argan had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 29.61%.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 23rd. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.04%.

Argan 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.