Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys 11,796 Shares of Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Argan, Inc. by 20.2%, acquiring an additional 11,796 shares, bringing its total ownership to 70,186 shares valued at approximately $9.2 million.
• Insider activity showed significant sales, with CFO Richard H. Deily selling 1,604 shares and CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins selling 5,000 shares, reducing their ownership stakes by 17.05% and 25.63%, respectively.
• Analysts have mixed views on Argan's stock, with a recent average target price set at $202, and ratings ranging from "Buy" to "Hold" from various research firms.

Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 20.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,186 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,796 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.51% of Argan worth $9,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AGX. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Argan during the 4th quarter valued at $23,064,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Argan during the 1st quarter valued at $11,307,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Argan by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 926,168 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $121,485,000 after purchasing an additional 82,585 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Argan during the 1st quarter valued at $9,958,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Argan by 815.1% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 77,460 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $10,615,000 after purchasing an additional 68,995 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on AGX. Lake Street Capital boosted their price target 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. Kepler Capital Markets downgraded shares of Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, July 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Argan has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $202.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other Argan news, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,621 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.63, for a total transaction of $617,586.23. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,180,520.02. This represents a 22.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $1,225,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,553,970. This trade represents a 25.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 96,564 shares of company stock valued at $21,046,366. Insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

Argan Stock Performance

NYSE AGX traded up $7.94 during trading on Thursday, hitting $234.97. 345,419 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 425,126. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.95 and a beta of 0.62. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.81 and a 12-month high of $253.79. The business has a 50 day moving average of $222.05 and a 200-day moving average of $181.51.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Argan's dividend payout ratio is 21.04%.

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.