BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Takes Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• BI Asset Management opened a new position in Argan during the fourth quarter, buying 6,182 shares worth about $1.94 million. Other institutional investors also increased or initiated stakes, and institutions now own 79.43% of the stock.
• Analysts have generally turned more positive on Argan, with several firms raising price targets and upgrades in recent reports. The stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus and a consensus target price of $470.40.
• Argan reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $3.24 EPS on revenue of $290.95 million, both above estimates. The company also paid a quarterly dividend and authorized a $200 million share repurchase program.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 6,182 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,937,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AGX. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Argan by 12.2% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 117,805 shares of the construction company's stock worth $15,452,000 after buying an additional 12,854 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Argan by 118.3% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,316 shares of the construction company's stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 2,881 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Argan by 13.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 35,567 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,665,000 after buying an additional 4,196 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Argan by 37.3% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 8,985 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,179,000 after buying an additional 2,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Argan during the second quarter worth about $286,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AGX shares. Lake Street Capital raised their price objective on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Argan to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Argan from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $550.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, April 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Argan presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $470.40.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In related news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $628.36, for a total transaction of $1,885,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,302,380.92. The trade was a 30.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 4,556 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $539.85, for a total transaction of $2,459,556.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,962,894.60. This represents a 55.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 64,543 shares of company stock valued at $39,054,956. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Argan Stock Down 1.3%

AGX opened at $611.66 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.75 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $641.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $472.79. Argan, Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.82 and a twelve month high of $779.00.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.03 million. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The company's revenue was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.60 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Argan, Inc. will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.57%.

Argan declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 8th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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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