Money Concepts Capital Corp Takes Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Institutional buying remained strong: Money Concepts Capital Corp opened a new position in Argan, and several other hedge funds and institutions also added or increased stakes. About 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
• Insiders have been selling shares: Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey and Director Alexander Lisa Larroque both sold stock recently, and insiders sold 64,543 shares worth about $39.1 million over the last quarter.
• Argan posted solid results and returned capital: The company beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, announced a $200 million share repurchase plan, and paid a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share.

Money Concepts Capital Corp bought a new stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,814 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $882,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AGX. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust purchased a new stake in Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $14,138,000. Thames Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $11,175,000. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $971,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Argan by 125.3% during the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,505 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,377,000 after acquiring an additional 6,955 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Argan during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,629,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,698 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was 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 $1,329,680. This represents a 57.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 350 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $630.58, for a total value of $220,703.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $220,703. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 64,543 shares of company stock worth $39,054,956. 6.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Argan Trading Up 5.7%

NYSE AGX opened at $720.09 on Thursday. The business's 50 day moving average is $563.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $426.94. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $176.97 and a 12-month high of $742.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.93 and a beta of 0.61.

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

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on AGX shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, April 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Lake Street Capital upped their price objective on Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Argan from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $550.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Argan to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Argan has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $425.40.

Argan Company 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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