Gunderson Capital Management LLC Buys New Shares in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Gunderson Capital Management opened a new position in Argan, buying 9,326 shares worth about $5.08 million in the first quarter, making AGX its 22nd-largest holding.
• Argan reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.24 topping estimates and revenue of $290.95 million, up 50.2% year over year. The company also raised attention with a major stock buyback authorization of up to $200 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share and has seen mixed insider and analyst activity, including recent insider sales alongside multiple analyst upgrades and a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.

Gunderson Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,326 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $5,079,000. Argan makes up approximately 2.1% of Gunderson Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Gunderson Capital Management LLC owned about 0.07% of Argan as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AGX. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Argan in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Argan in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of Argan stock opened at $764.06 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $674.70 and a 200-day moving average of $503.48. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.90 and a 52-week high of $791.38. The stock has a market cap of $10.71 billion, a PE ratio of 67.14 and a beta of 0.58.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.93. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The company had revenue of $290.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $256.03 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Argan announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 8th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 23rd. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $760.43, for a total transaction of $15,208,600.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 40,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,159,379.68. The trade was a 32.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 sale, the director directly owned 4,880 shares in the company, valued at $3,411,120. The trade was a 29.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 186,800 shares of company stock worth $123,296,561 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AGX. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Lake Street Capital increased their price target on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research 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 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Argan to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Argan currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $470.40.

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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