Axiom Investors LLC DE reduced its stake in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 55.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,591 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 44,147 shares during the quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE owned approximately 0.26% of Argan worth $11,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AGX. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Argan during the 3rd quarter worth about $971,000. TD Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Argan during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,629,000. M&T Bank Corp bought a new position in Argan during the 4th quarter worth about $478,000. Covenant Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Argan during the 4th quarter worth about $2,748,000. Finally, Alpine Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Argan during the 3rd quarter worth about $16,203,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Activity at Argan
In other Argan news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 19,310 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $602.11, for a total transaction of $11,626,744.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 49,998 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,104,295.78. This trade represents a 27.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 11,068 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $621.61, for a total transaction of $6,879,979.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 30,320 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,847,215.20. This trade represents a 26.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 64,543 shares of company stock worth $39,054,956 in the last ninety days. 6.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Argan Stock Performance
NYSE:AGX opened at $611.66 on Wednesday. Argan, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.82 and a fifty-two week high of $779.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.75 and a beta of 0.58. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $641.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $472.79.
Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.03 million. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 36.89%. Argan's revenue was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.60 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Argan, Inc. will post 11.44 EPS for the current year.
Argan announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.
Argan Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.57%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages have issued reports on AGX. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Argan from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $550.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 27th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Argan to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Argan currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $470.40.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on AGX
Argan Profile
(
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.
Further Reading
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