Bank of New York Mellon Corp Boosts Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon increased its stake in Argan by 20.3% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 300,379 shares worth about $163.6 million.
• Argan reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $3.24 versus the $2.31 consensus and revenue up 50.2% year over year to $290.95 million.
• The company announced a $0.50 quarterly dividend and authorized a $200 million share repurchase program, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $470.40.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 20.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 300,379 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 50,605 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 2.15% of Argan worth $163,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in Argan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $137,503,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Argan by 168.9% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 253,365 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $55,862,000 after purchasing an additional 159,149 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Argan by 172.5% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 229,893 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $50,687,000 after purchasing an additional 145,516 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Argan in the third quarter worth $34,647,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Argan by 320.0% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 153,115 shares of the construction company's stock worth $41,349,000 after buying an additional 116,657 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Argan Stock Up 0.2%

AGX opened at $548.54 on Friday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $679.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $539.85. Argan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.90 and a 52 week high of $805.75. The stock has a market cap of $7.69 billion, a PE ratio of 48.20 and a beta of 0.57.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.93. Argan had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 15.48%.The firm had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 50.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 23rd. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.57%.

Argan declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 8th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Argan from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $550.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $470.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Argan news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 1,880 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $707.35, for a total transaction of $1,329,818.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,005 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,297,536.75. This trade represents a 4.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $699.00, for a total transaction of $1,398,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,411,120. The trade was a 29.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 151,309 shares of company stock worth $102,366,655 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

Argan Profile

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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