Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Buys 12,640 Shares of Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Mirae Asset Global Investments opened a new Argan position, buying 12,640 shares worth approximately $4.78 million, or about 0.09% of the company.
• Argan’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations: earnings were $3.76 per share versus a $2.64 consensus, while revenue reached $383.98 million and rose 61.5% year over year. The company also increased its quarterly dividend from $0.50 to $0.70 per share.
• Analysts’ average rating is Moderate Buy, with a $509 average price target, although shares opened at $259.88 after a reported 10.6% decline.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 12,640 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $4,777,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.09% of Argan as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the second quarter valued at about $1,764,086,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Argan by 32.1% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 791,353 shares of the construction company's stock worth $431,010,000 after purchasing an additional 192,204 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Argan during the second quarter worth about $131,878,000. SurgoCap Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Argan during the second quarter worth about $119,769,000. Finally, Sculptor Capital LP bought a new stake in Argan during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $76,262,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on AGX. Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, October 18th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Argan from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Argan from $800.00 to $785.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Argan in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $273.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Freedom Broker upgraded shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Argan presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $509.00.

Argan Stock Down 10.6%

Shares of Argan stock opened at $259.88 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $376.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $516.45. Argan, Inc. has a twelve month low of $252.88 and a twelve month high of $805.75.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The construction company reported $3.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $1.12. The company had revenue of $383.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $300.53 million. Argan had a return on equity of 38.51% and a net margin of 15.09%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 61.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Argan, Inc. will post 13.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 22nd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. This is an increase from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Argan's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.15%.

Argan Company Profile

Argan, Inc is a holding company that provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, operations and maintenance services for the power generation and renewable energy industries. Its work supports the development, construction and improvement of utility-scale energy infrastructure.

Through its subsidiaries, Argan offers engineering and construction management, project development support, procurement, installation, startup and commissioning services. Its projects have included natural gas-fired power plants, solar and other renewable energy facilities, and related industrial and electrical infrastructure.

Argan's principal operating businesses include Gemma Power Systems, which provides engineering, procurement and construction services for power generation and renewable energy projects, and Atlantic Projects Company, which provides engineering, project management and construction-related 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.