Maxi Investments CY Ltd Takes Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Maxi Investments CY Ltd acquired a new stake of 4,800 Argan (NYSE:AGX) shares in Q4 valued at about $1.504 million, and institutional investors now own roughly 79.43% of the stock with other recent institutional buys including PFA Pension (~$1.95M).
• Argan materially beat quarterly expectations with EPS $3.47 vs. $1.99 and revenue of $262.05M (up 12.7% YoY), and its board approved a $200 million share repurchase program (up to ~2.5% of outstanding shares).
• Despite the stock trading near recent highs (about $691.80), insiders sold roughly 64,543 shares worth ~$39.05M over the past 90 days, while analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a $425.40 price target, signaling mixed views on valuation (P/E ~71).

Maxi Investments CY Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,800 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,504,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AGX. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Argan during the 4th quarter valued at about $238,000. Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Argan in the fourth quarter worth approximately $279,000. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $434,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in Argan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,950,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Argan Stock Down 4.9%

Shares of Argan stock opened at $691.80 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $166.00 and a 52 week high of $742.30. The company has a market capitalization of $9.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.03 and a beta of 0.61. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $543.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $415.32.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $1.48. The firm had revenue of $262.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $255.32 million. Argan had a net margin of 14.59% and a return on equity of 33.62%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Argan, Inc. will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 22nd. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.53%.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In related news, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 4,556 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $539.85, for a total value of $2,459,556.60. Following the sale, the director owned 3,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,962,894.60. The trade was a 55.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 8,444 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $598.49, for a total transaction of $5,053,649.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 41,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,834,342.55. This trade represents a 16.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 64,543 shares of company stock valued at $39,054,956 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AGX shares. Lake Street Capital raised their target price on shares of Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Freedom Capital raised Argan to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Argan has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $425.40.

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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