Argan, Inc. $AGX Stock Purchased by Vest Financial LLC

Key Points

• Institutional ownership increased: Vest Financial raised its Argan stake by 168.1% to 7,560 shares, while 79.43% of AGX stock is now held by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Analysts remain broadly positive: Argan carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $509, despite AGX trading at $331.16 and having fallen well below its 12-month high of $805.75.
• Strong operating results and higher dividend: Quarterly EPS of $3.76 and revenue of $383.98 million exceeded estimates, with revenue up 61.5% year over year. The company also increased its quarterly dividend from $0.50 to $0.70 per share.

Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 168.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,560 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,740 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned about 0.05% of Argan worth $2,857,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AGX. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Argan by 704.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 18,517 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $14,787,000 after purchasing an additional 16,214 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Argan during the second quarter worth approximately $1,764,086,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Argan in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,156,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Argan in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,292,000. Finally, BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Argan in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,484,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AGX. Weiss Ratings raised Argan from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, October 18th. Lake Street Capital raised shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $600.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Argan from $800.00 to $785.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Freedom Broker upgraded shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Argan has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $509.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In related news, Director John Jeffrey, Jr. sold 5,716 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.64, for a total transaction of $3,313,222.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,468,228.12. The trade was a 69.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.99% of the company's stock.

Argan Price Performance

AGX opened at $331.16 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $406.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $562.65. Argan, Inc. has a 12 month low of $276.28 and a 12 month high of $805.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.13, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.56.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The construction company reported $3.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $1.12. The company had revenue of $383.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.53 million. Argan had a return on equity of 38.51% and a net margin of 15.09%. Argan's revenue for the quarter was up 61.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.50 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Argan, Inc. will post 13.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 22nd. This is a positive change from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.15%.

Argan Profile

Argan, Inc is a holding company that provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, operations and maintenance services for the power generation and renewable energy industries. Its work supports the development, construction and improvement of utility-scale energy infrastructure.

Through its subsidiaries, Argan offers engineering and construction management, project development support, procurement, installation, startup and commissioning services. Its projects have included natural gas-fired power plants, solar and other renewable energy facilities, and related industrial and electrical infrastructure.

Argan's principal operating businesses include Gemma Power Systems, which provides engineering, procurement and construction services for power generation and renewable energy projects, and Atlantic Projects Company, which provides engineering, project management and construction-related services.

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