M&T Bank Corp Buys Shares of 1,714 Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) of 1,714 shares valued at about $537,000, and institutional investors now own roughly 79.43% of the company.
• Argan reported a strong quarter—$3.47 EPS (beating estimates by $1.48) and revenue up 12.7% to $262.05M—its stock trades near a one‑year high (~$704), the market cap is about $9.81B, and the board authorized a $200M buyback while paying a $0.50 quarterly dividend.
• Despite positive results, insiders sold heavily this quarter—about 64,543 shares worth approximately $39.05M (including significant sales by the CEO and a director), leaving insiders with ~6.69% ownership.

M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,714 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $537,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 12,854 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 2,881 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 4,196 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 2,442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $286,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of AGX stock opened at $703.06 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $527.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $405.76. The firm has a market cap of $9.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.18 and a beta of 0.61. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $157.88 and a one year high of $704.59.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

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

Argan announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AGX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Lake Street Capital lifted their price objective on Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $425.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $619.88, for a total value of $495,904.00. Following the sale, the director owned 500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $309,940. The trade was a 61.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 11,068 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $621.61, for a total value of $6,879,979.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 30,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,847,215.20. This represents a 26.74% 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 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

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.

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