Penn Mutual Asset Management Raises Stock Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Penn Mutual Asset Management increased its holdings in Argan, Inc. by 133.0% during Q1, owning a total of 6,292 shares valued at about $825,000.
• Argan reported a quarterly EPS of $1.60 for its latest quarter, beating estimates of $1.09, and its revenue increased by 22.8% year-over-year.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.375, reflecting an annualized dividend of $1.50 and a yield of 0.7%.

Penn Mutual Asset Management increased its stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 133.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,292 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,592 shares during the period. Argan accounts for about 1.6% of Penn Mutual Asset Management's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Penn Mutual Asset Management's holdings in Argan were worth $825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Argan by 2,987.5% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 247 shares of the construction company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in Argan by 419.4% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 374 shares of the construction company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Argan by 1,123.5% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 416 shares of the construction company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Argan by 16,640.0% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 837 shares of the construction company's stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury acquired a new stake in Argan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $138,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on AGX shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Lake Street Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets cut shares of Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $202.00.

Argan Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of NYSE:AGX traded up $6.55 during trading on Friday, hitting $224.84. 120,416 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 429,011. The company has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $218.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.65. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.81 and a 52-week high of $253.79.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 4th. The construction company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $193.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.75 million. Argan had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 29.61%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS.

Argan Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were issued a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 23rd. Argan's payout ratio is presently 21.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.56, for a total value of $469,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 31,428 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,371,751.68. The trade was a 5.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Richard H. Deily sold 1,604 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.77, for a total transaction of $389,403.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 7,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,894,091.54. The trade was a 17.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 96,564 shares of company stock worth $21,046,366 in the last 90 days. 6.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Argan Profile

Argan, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, maintenance, project development, and technical consulting services to the power generation market. The company operates through Power Services, Industrial Services, and Telecom Services segments. The Power Services segment offers engineering, procurement, and construction, as well as designing, building, and commissioning of large-scale energy projects to the owners of alternative energy facilities, such as biomass plants, wind farms, and solar fields; and design, construction, project management, start-up, and operation services for projects with approximately 18 gigawatts of power-generating capacity.