SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. Makes New $577,000 Investment in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• SBI Okasan Asset Management disclosed a new position in Argan, buying 1,800 shares worth about $577,000 in the fourth quarter.
• Institutional interest in Argan remains high, with hedge funds and asset managers owning 79.43% of the stock; several firms recently increased holdings, including First Trust Advisors, Balyasny, and Invesco.
• Argan posted strong quarterly results, reporting $3.47 EPS versus estimates of $1.99 and revenue up 12.7% year over year, while analysts currently hold a Moderate Buy consensus with a $425.40 price target.

SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,800 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $577,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Argan by 69.8% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 559,466 shares of the construction company's stock worth $151,084,000 after acquiring an additional 230,073 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Argan by 168.9% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 253,365 shares of the construction company's stock worth $55,862,000 after acquiring an additional 159,149 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Argan by 172.5% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 229,893 shares of the construction company's stock worth $50,687,000 after acquiring an additional 145,516 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the third quarter worth approximately $35,629,000. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the third quarter worth approximately $34,647,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Lake Street Capital boosted their price objective on Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research cut Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Argan from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $550.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $425.40.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of AGX opened at $666.85 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $193.82 and a one year high of $748.50. The company has a market cap of $9.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.46 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $614.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $456.76.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $1.48. Argan had a net margin of 14.59% and a return on equity of 33.62%. The business had revenue of $262.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $255.32 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Argan, Inc. will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 22nd. Argan's payout ratio is currently 20.53%.

Argan declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in 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 usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Argan

In other Argan news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $628.36, for a total transaction of $1,885,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,847 shares in the company, valued at $4,302,380.92. The trade was a 30.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 4,556 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $539.85, for a total transaction of $2,459,556.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,962,894.60. This represents a 55.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 64,543 shares of company stock valued at $39,054,956. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Argan

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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