Thames Capital Management LLC Has $16.23 Million Holdings in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Thames Capital Management increased its stake in Argan by 25.2% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 51,794 shares worth about $16.23 million. The position now makes up 2.4% of the fund’s portfolio.
• Argan reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.47 versus analyst expectations of $1.99 and revenue of $262.05 million, up 12.7% year over year. The company also posted solid profitability metrics, including a 33.62% return on equity.
• The company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share and authorized a $200 million share repurchase program. Meanwhile, analysts are mixed but lean positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a target price of $425.40.

Thames Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 25.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,794 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 10,411 shares during the quarter. Argan comprises 2.4% of Thames Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Thames Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.37% of Argan worth $16,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Argan by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 541 shares of the construction company's stock worth $170,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Argan by 26.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 147 shares of the construction company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Argan by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,564 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $803,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Argan by 1.3% in the third quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $739,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spirepoint Private Client LLC raised its stake in shares of Argan by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Argan Price Performance

Argan stock opened at $666.85 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $614.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $456.76. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.82 and a 52-week high of $748.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.46 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were paid 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 20.53%.

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 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on AGX. Lake Street Capital upped their target price on Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Freedom Capital upgraded Argan to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Argan from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $550.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $425.40.

Insider Activity

In other Argan news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,847 shares in the company, valued at $4,302,380.92. This represents a 30.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 11,068 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $18,847,215.20. This represents a 26.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 64,543 shares of company stock valued at $39,054,956. 6.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Argan Company 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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