Argan, Inc. $AGX Shares Purchased by WCM Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Argan, Inc. by 7.2% during Q2, owning 0.55% of the company's stock worth approximately $16.3 million.
• Analysts are optimistic about Argan's future, with several firms raising their ratings and price targets, resulting in an average target price of $258.20 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Argan has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50, representing an increase from the previous dividend of $0.38, with a dividend yield of 0.7%.

WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 74,382 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,988 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC owned 0.55% of Argan worth $16,345,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AGX. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Argan by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the construction company's stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management grew its position in Argan by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 5,277 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,163,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its position in Argan by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 18,599 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,440,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Argan by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,756 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,067,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in Argan by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 64,521 shares of the construction company's stock worth $8,463,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AGX. UBS Group set a $315.00 price target on Argan in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Argan from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $220.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research raised shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Lake Street Capital increased their target price on shares of Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $258.20.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In related news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 4,441 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.01, for a total value of $1,230,201.41. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 47,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,210,883.91. This trade represents a 8.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.96, for a total transaction of $4,079,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,428 shares in the company, valued at $4,467,758.88. This represents a 47.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 101,027 shares of company stock worth $26,875,296 in the last three months. 6.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Argan Stock Down 5.2%

AGX stock opened at $296.32 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $246.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $210.05. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.02 and a 52-week high of $320.00. The firm has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.62 and a beta of 0.64.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 4th. The construction company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $237.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.97 million. Argan had a net margin of 12.73% and a return on equity of 32.61%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 EPS.

Argan Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Argan's dividend payout ratio is 18.03%.

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.

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