M&T Bank Corp Makes New Investment in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp opened a new position in Argan, buying 1,526 shares valued at about $478,000 in the fourth quarter.
• Argan has seen notable insider selling, including recent sales by directors William F. Leimkuhler and Peter W. Getsinger, with insiders selling 64,543 shares worth about $39.1 million over the last three months.
• The company posted strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.47 beating estimates and revenue of $262.05 million topping forecasts; Argan also authorized a $200 million stock buyback and paid a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share.

M&T Bank Corp purchased a new position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,526 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $478,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the third quarter worth about $32,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Argan by 26.7% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 147 shares of the construction company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Argan news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $619.88, for a total transaction of $495,904.00. Following the sale, the director owned 500 shares in the company, valued at $309,940. This represents a 61.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $628.36, for a total value of $1,885,080.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,847 shares in the company, valued at $4,302,380.92. The trade was a 30.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 64,543 shares of company stock valued at $39,054,956 over the last three months. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AGX shares. Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Argan from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $550.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Freedom Capital raised Argan to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. One research 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, Argan has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $425.40.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of AGX opened at $681.28 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.95 and a beta of 0.61. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $171.59 and a one year high of $742.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $557.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $423.80.

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

Argan announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 8th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Argan Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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.