Comerica Bank Increases Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Comerica Bank increased its stake in Argan, Inc. by 203.3% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 1,732 shares, bringing its total holdings to 2,584 shares valued at approximately $339,000.
• Several other institutional investors have also boosted their positions in Argan, with Deutsche Bank escalating its stake by 815.1% during the fourth quarter.
• Argan recently reported earnings of $2.50 per share and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.375 per share, with a payout ratio of 18.03%.

Comerica Bank increased its stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 203.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,584 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,732 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in Argan were worth $339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGX. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Argan by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 133,494 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $18,294,000 after buying an additional 6,483 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Argan by 815.1% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 77,460 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $10,615,000 after buying an additional 68,995 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Argan by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 15,436 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,115,000 after buying an additional 1,386 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Argan by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 529,052 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $72,502,000 after buying an additional 29,062 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Argan by 50.8% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 104,951 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $14,382,000 after buying an additional 35,355 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on AGX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Kepler Capital Markets lowered shares of Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Lake Street Capital upped their price target on shares of Argan from $236.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $210.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 5,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $1,225,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,553,970. This trade represents a 25.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,621 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.63, for a total transaction of $617,586.23. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,180,520.02. The trade was a 22.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,836 shares of company stock valued at $9,687,716. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Argan Trading Up 6.7%

Argan stock opened at $217.51 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $222.29 and a 200-day moving average of $183.87. The firm has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.14 and a beta of 0.62. Argan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $86.98 and a 1-year high of $253.79.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 4th. The construction company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $237.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.97 million. Argan had a net margin of 12.73% and a return on equity of 32.61%. Argan's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 23rd. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.03%.

About Argan

Argan, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, maintenance, project development, and technical consulting services to the power generation market. The company operates through Power Services, Industrial Services, and Telecom Services segments. The Power Services segment offers engineering, procurement, and construction, as well as designing, building, and commissioning of large-scale energy projects to the owners of alternative energy facilities, such as biomass plants, wind farms, and solar fields; and design, construction, project management, start-up, and operation services for projects with approximately 18 gigawatts of power-generating capacity.

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