BlackRock Inc. Makes New $1.76 Billion Investment in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 2.21 million Argan shares worth approximately $1.76 billion, giving it a 15.76% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.43% of AGX.
• Argan reported strong quarterly results, with earnings per share of $3.24 beating estimates by $0.93 and revenue rising 50.2% year over year to $290.95 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately bullish, though some firms downgraded the stock to “hold.” AGX opened at $527.74 after declining 4.6%, while insiders have sold roughly $87.6 million of shares over the past 90 days.

BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,209,112 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,764,086,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 15.76% of Argan as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Argan by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 827,482 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $259,267,000 after purchasing an additional 3,068 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Argan by 32.1% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 791,353 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $431,010,000 after buying an additional 192,204 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Argan by 2.1% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 610,899 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $332,726,000 after buying an additional 12,300 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Argan by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 464,759 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $253,131,000 after acquiring an additional 25,901 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Argan by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 400,379 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $125,462,000 after acquiring an additional 80,415 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In related news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 9,993 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $651.22, for a total transaction of $6,507,641.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 40,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,052,056.10. This trade represents a 19.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 4,728 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $708.65, for a total value of $3,350,497.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,875,512. This trade represents a 40.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 127,973 shares of company stock valued at $87,554,828. 2.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AGX. Weiss Ratings cut Argan from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report 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. Finally, Lake Street Capital upped their target price on Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $470.40.

Argan Stock Down 4.6%

NYSE AGX opened at $527.74 on Thursday. Argan, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $197.00 and a fifty-two week high of $805.75. The stock has a market cap of $7.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.37 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day moving average of $638.19 and a 200-day moving average of $578.99.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 EPS for the current year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Argan's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.57%.

Argan Company 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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