Argan, Inc. $AGX Shares Purchased by Algert Global LLC

Key Points

• Algert Global increased its Argan position by 129.7% in the second quarter, while institutional investors collectively own 79.43% of the company’s stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive but cautious: Argan has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating, with four Buy and four Hold ratings and an average price target of $470.40.
• Argan reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.24 beating estimates and revenue rising 50.2% year over year to $290.95 million. However, insiders sold 127,973 shares worth $87.6 million over the past quarter.

Algert Global LLC increased its position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 129.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,369 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,809 shares during the quarter. Algert Global LLC owned 0.12% of Argan worth $13,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,764,086,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Argan by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 827,482 shares of the construction company's stock worth $259,267,000 after buying an additional 3,068 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Argan by 32.1% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 791,353 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $431,010,000 after buying an additional 192,204 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Argan by 2.1% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 610,899 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $332,726,000 after buying an additional 12,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its position in Argan by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 464,759 shares of the construction company's stock worth $253,131,000 after purchasing an additional 25,901 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AGX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Lake Street Capital raised 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. Zacks Research cut Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Argan from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Argan currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $470.40.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other Argan news, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 5,716 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.64, for a total value of $3,313,222.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,533 shares in the company, valued at $1,468,228.12. This represents a 69.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joshua Scott Baugher sold 760 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $733.30, for a total transaction of $557,308.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,084,550.70. The trade was a 33.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 127,973 shares of company stock valued at $87,554,828. Corporate insiders own 2.99% of the company's stock.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGX opened at $450.21 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $624.07 and its 200-day moving average is $582.53. Argan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $197.00 and a 52 week high of $805.75. The firm has a market cap of $6.31 billion, a PE ratio of 39.56 and a beta of 0.61.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.60 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 EPS for the current year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 23rd. Argan's payout ratio is 17.57%.

About Argan

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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