Keystone Investors PTE Ltd. Invests $28.57 Million in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Keystone Investors PTE Ltd. opened a new position in Argan, buying 91,197 shares worth about $28.57 million in the fourth quarter. The stake represents about 0.66% of Argan and is Keystone’s 11th-largest holding.
• Argan reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.24 versus expectations of $2.31 and revenue of $290.95 million, well above estimates. Revenue also rose 50.2% from the same quarter last year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share and a $200 million share repurchase plan. At the same time, several analysts issued mixed ratings, though the overall consensus remains Moderate Buy.

Keystone Investors PTE Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 91,197 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $28,574,000. Argan makes up 2.6% of Keystone Investors PTE Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Keystone Investors PTE Ltd. owned about 0.66% of Argan at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AGX. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Argan by 12.2% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Argan by 118.3% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Argan by 13.4% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Argan by 37.3% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $286,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AGX. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research cut Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Argan from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $550.00 price target on the stock 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 equities 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.com, Argan has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $470.40.

Argan Price Performance

AGX opened at $642.73 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.48 and a beta of 0.58. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $645.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $477.61. Argan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.82 and a 1-year high of $779.00.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

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

Argan announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Argan news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $619.88, for a total transaction of $495,904.00. Following the sale, the director owned 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $309,940. This represents a 61.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,698 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $664.84, for a total value of $1,793,738.32. Following the sale, the director owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,329,680. This trade represents a 57.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 64,543 shares of company stock worth $39,054,956 in the last quarter. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.