Avala Global LP acquired a new position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 76,500 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $61,089,000. Argan makes up 2.3% of Avala Global LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Avala Global LP owned 0.55% of Argan at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Argan during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,764,086,000. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new stake in Argan during the 4th quarter worth about $478,000. Covenant Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Argan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,748,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund bought a new stake in shares of Argan in the 1st quarter valued at $1,728,000. Finally, Thames Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Argan by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC now owns 51,794 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $16,228,000 after acquiring an additional 10,411 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research analysts have weighed in on AGX shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Argan from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Zacks Research downgraded Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. Finally, Lake Street Capital upped their price target on Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $470.40.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Argan
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Argan news, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 5,716 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $760.43, for a total transaction of $15,208,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 40,976 shares in the company, valued at $31,159,379.68. The trade was a 32.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 127,973 shares of company stock worth $87,554,828 in the last 90 days. 2.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Argan Stock Up 1.2%
Argan stock opened at $455.92 on Thursday. Argan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $197.00 and a 52 week high of $805.75. The stock has a market cap of $6.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.06 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $618.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $583.32.
Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $256.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share 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 $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Argan's payout ratio is currently 17.57%.
About Argan
(
Free Report)
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.
Read More
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AGX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat
Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.
Before you consider Argan, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Argan wasn't on the list.
While Argan currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
The AI boom is creating opportunities across semiconductors, cloud computing, enterprise software, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and automation.
Inside this report, you’ll find 10 companies positioned to benefit as artificial intelligence moves from hype to real-world deployment and becomes a core growth driver for corporate America.
Get This Free Report