Sapient Capital LLC Cuts Holdings in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Sapient Capital reduced its Argan stake by 14.5% in the third quarter, selling 3,822 shares and retaining 22,544 shares valued at approximately $8.52 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.43% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $476.67. Several firms recently upgraded Argan, although JPMorgan lowered its target to $785 while maintaining an overweight rating.
• Argan reported strong quarterly results, earning $3.76 per share on $383.98 million in revenue, exceeding estimates and representing 61.5% year-over-year revenue growth. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.70 per share, while the stock recently traded at $398.88.

Sapient Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 14.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,544 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 3,822 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC owned 0.16% of Argan worth $8,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Argan by 2.0% during the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 775 shares of the construction company's stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted its stake in Argan by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,030 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,734,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Argan during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Argan during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in shares of Argan by 2,950.0% in the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the construction company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AGX shares. Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 5th. Freedom Broker upgraded Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Lake Street Capital raised shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $600.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Argan from $800.00 to $785.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $476.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John Jeffrey, Jr. sold 5,716 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.64, for a total value of $3,313,222.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,533 shares in the company, valued at $1,468,228.12. This trade represents a 69.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Argan Stock Down 1.4%

NYSE AGX traded down $5.51 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $398.88. 336,310 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 389,434. Argan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $255.60 and a 1 year high of $805.75. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $460.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $575.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.56.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The construction company reported $3.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $1.12. Argan had a net margin of 15.09% and a return on equity of 38.51%. The firm had revenue of $383.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $300.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 61.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Argan, Inc. will post 13.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Argan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 22nd. Argan's payout ratio is currently 22.15%.

Argan Profile

Argan, Inc NYSE: AGX is a holding company that provides engineering, procurement and construction services primarily to the power-generation and renewable-energy industries. Through its subsidiaries, the company supports the development and construction of energy infrastructure, including natural gas-fired power plants, renewable-energy facilities and related industrial projects.

Argan's principal operating businesses include Gemma Power Systems, which provides project development, design, engineering, procurement, construction management, commissioning and operations support services.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AGX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report).

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.