Pacer Advisors Inc. Takes $10.86 Million Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors initiated a new position in Argan, buying 34,666 shares worth about $10.86 million in the fourth quarter, according to its latest 13F filing.
• Argan reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.24 beating estimates and revenue of $290.95 million topping expectations; revenue also rose 50.2% year over year.
• The company has seen notable insider selling recently, including large sales by the chairman and CEO, even as analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus and Argan approved a $200 million share repurchase program.

Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 34,666 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $10,862,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 0.25% of Argan at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Argan by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 827,482 shares of the construction company's stock worth $259,267,000 after purchasing an additional 3,068 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Argan by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 599,149 shares of the construction company's stock worth $187,725,000 after buying an additional 39,683 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Argan in the fourth quarter worth about $137,503,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Argan by 0.9% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 435,761 shares of the construction company's stock worth $117,677,000 after acquiring an additional 4,027 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Argan by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 400,379 shares of the construction company's stock worth $125,462,000 after acquiring an additional 80,415 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In related news, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $643.46, for a total transaction of $32,173,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 90,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,539,416.96. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 11,068 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $621.61, for a total transaction of $6,879,979.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 30,320 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,847,215.20. The trade was a 26.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 136,800 shares of company stock valued at $86,312,461. 6.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Zacks Research cut shares of Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, April 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Argan to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $470.40.

Argan Stock Down 0.1%

AGX opened at $738.43 on Monday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $659.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $490.19. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.82 and a 52-week high of $779.00. The company has a market cap of $10.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.89 and a beta of 0.59.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $256.03 million. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.60 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 EPS for the current year.

Argan declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Argan's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.57%.

Argan 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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