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

Key Points

• Sapient Capital LLC cut its Argan stake by 20% in the first quarter, selling 10,260 shares and retaining 41,003 shares valued at approximately $22.3 million. Despite the reduction, institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.43% of AGX.
• Argan reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $3.24 per share versus the $2.31 consensus estimate and revenue of $290.95 million, up 50.2% year over year. The company also approved a $200 million share-repurchase plan and pays a $0.50 quarterly dividend.
• AGX traded at $569.54, while analysts maintained a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $470.40. Insiders sold 122,257 shares worth $84.2 million over the past 90 days, including sales by the CEO and CFO.

Sapient Capital LLC decreased its stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 20.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,003 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 10,260 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC owned approximately 0.29% of Argan worth $22,319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Argan by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 117,805 shares of the construction company's stock worth $15,452,000 after buying an additional 12,854 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Argan by 118.3% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,316 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $697,000 after acquiring an additional 2,881 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Argan by 13.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 35,567 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $4,665,000 after acquiring an additional 4,196 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Argan by 37.3% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 8,985 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,179,000 after acquiring an additional 2,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Argan during the second quarter worth approximately $286,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Argan Stock Performance

NYSE:AGX opened at $569.54 on Monday. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $197.00 and a one year high of $805.75. The stock has a market cap of $7.98 billion, a PE ratio of 50.05 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $658.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $558.85.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.93. The company 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 50.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Argan's payout ratio is 17.57%.

Argan declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Argan in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Lake Street Capital upped their target price on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Argan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Argan presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $470.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 9,993 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $651.22, for a total value of $6,507,641.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 40,005 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,052,056.10. This represents a 19.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joshua Scott Baugher sold 760 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $733.30, for a total value of $557,308.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,084,550.70. This represents a 33.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 122,257 shares of company stock worth $84,241,605 over the last ninety days. 2.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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