Handelsbanken Fonder AB Invests $1.47 Million in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB opened a new position in Argan, buying 4,700 shares valued at about $1.47 million in the fourth quarter.
• Argan has seen mixed but mostly positive analyst sentiment, with several recent upgrades and a consensus rating of Moderate Buy; the average price target stands at $425.40.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, while also announcing a $200 million stock buyback and a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,700 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,473,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Argan in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Argan in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Lake Street Capital boosted their price target on Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Freedom Capital upgraded Argan to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Zacks Research upgraded Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $425.40.

Argan Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE AGX opened at $654.99 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day moving average is $598.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $447.70. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.26 and a 12-month high of $748.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.25 and a beta of 0.61.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $1.48. Argan had a return on equity of 33.62% and a net margin of 14.59%.The company had revenue of $262.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $255.32 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Argan's payout ratio is presently 20.53%.

Argan announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 8th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other Argan news, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 11,068 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $621.61, for a total transaction of $6,879,979.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 30,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,847,215.20. The trade was a 26.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 8,444 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $598.49, for a total value of $5,053,649.56. Following the sale, the director directly owned 41,495 shares in the company, valued at $24,834,342.55. This trade represents a 16.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 64,543 shares of company stock worth $39,054,956 in the last three months. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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