Moody Aldrich Partners LLC Decreases Stake in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Moody Aldrich reduced its stake in Argan by 16.7% to 11,637 shares (~$3.65M), while overall institutional ownership remains high at about 79.4% with several funds recently building new positions.
• Insiders sold heavily over the past 90 days — 52,695 shares worth ~$31.6M total, including CEO David Hibbert Watson's sale of 19,310 shares at an average $602.11 and a director's sale of 4,556 shares.
• Argan reported an earnings beat (Q: EPS $3.47 vs $1.99 est., revenue $262.1M) and announced a $200M share buyback plus a $0.50 quarterly dividend, while analysts' consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy" with a $425.40 price target.

Moody Aldrich Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,637 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 2,332 shares during the quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Argan worth $3,646,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Argan from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $550.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Lake Street Capital upped their price target on Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Argan currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $425.40.

Insider Activity at Argan

In other news, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 4,556 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $539.85, for a total transaction of $2,459,556.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,962,894.60. This trade represents a 55.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 19,310 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $602.11, for a total transaction of $11,626,744.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 49,998 shares in the company, valued at $30,104,295.78. The trade was a 27.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 52,695 shares of company stock valued at $31,572,480 over the last 90 days. 6.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Argan Price Performance

NYSE AGX opened at $630.45 on Wednesday. Argan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.97 and a 1 year high of $683.12. The company has a market capitalization of $8.79 billion, a PE ratio of 64.73 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a fifty day moving average of $518.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $401.53.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $255.32 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Argan, Inc. will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be paid 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 Wednesday, April 22nd. Argan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.53%.

Argan declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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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