Argan, Inc. $AGX Stock Position Lessened by Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Jackson Creek Investment Advisors cut its Argan stake by 37.9% in the fourth quarter, though it still held 6,077 shares worth about $1.9 million. Institutional investors continue to own a large majority of the stock, at 79.43%.
• Argan reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $3.47 per share versus expectations of $1.99 and revenue of $262.05 million, topping estimates. Revenue rose 12.7% year over year, and analysts now expect full-year EPS of 11.44.
• The company has also been active on capital returns and insider activity, paying a $0.50 quarterly dividend and authorizing a $200 million share repurchase plan. At the same time, Argan executives recently sold shares, including two CEO transactions totaling more than $18 million.

Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 37.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,077 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 3,714 shares during the quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Argan were worth $1,904,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AGX. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Argan during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Argan in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in Argan in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AGX. Zacks Research raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Lake Street Capital lifted their price target on Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Argan to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $425.40.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGX opened at $673.63 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $602.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $450.16. Argan, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.82 and a fifty-two week high of $748.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.16 and a beta of 0.61.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $1.48. The firm had revenue of $262.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $255.32 million. Argan had a return on equity of 33.62% and a net margin of 14.59%.The business's revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Argan, Inc. will post 11.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Argan's payout ratio is currently 20.53%.

Argan announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other news, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 11,068 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $621.61, for a total transaction of $6,879,979.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 30,320 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,847,215.20. This represents a 26.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 19,310 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $602.11, for a total value of $11,626,744.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 49,998 shares in the company, valued at $30,104,295.78. This trade represents a 27.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 64,543 shares of company stock valued at $39,054,956 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

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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