Polen Capital Management LLC Sells 12,647 Shares of Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Polen Capital Management cut its Argan stake by 33.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 12,647 shares and ending with 24,886 shares valued at about $7.8 million.
• Argan reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.24 and revenue of $290.95 million, both ahead of expectations, while revenue rose 50.2% year over year.
• The company has also been active on shareholder returns, announcing a $200 million stock buyback and a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy.

Polen Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 33.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,886 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 12,647 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Argan worth $7,797,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Argan in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Argan in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Argan in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Argan during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Argan Trading Up 5.8%

Shares of AGX opened at $623.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.74 billion, a PE ratio of 54.75 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $644.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $476.45. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.82 and a 12-month high of $779.00.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $290.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.03 million. Argan had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 15.48%.The company's revenue was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.60 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Argan declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Argan Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $628.36, for a total transaction of $1,885,080.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,302,380.92. This represents a 30.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 11,068 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $621.61, for a total value of $6,879,979.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 30,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,847,215.20. The trade was a 26.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 64,543 shares of company stock worth $39,054,956. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AGX. Lake Street Capital raised their price objective on Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, April 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Argan from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $550.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $470.40.

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.

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.