Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Has $7.86 Million Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Key Points

• Thornburg Investment Management cut its Argan stake by 60.4% in the second quarter, selling 15,005 shares and retaining 9,843 shares valued at approximately $7.86 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.43% of AGX.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautiously positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $470.40, although several firms recently downgraded the stock to “Hold.”
• AGX opened at $419.92 after falling 8.7%; despite the decline, Argan reported strong quarterly results, including $3.24 in earnings per share and 50.2% year-over-year revenue growth. Insiders have sold nearly $87.6 million of stock over the past three months.

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 60.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,843 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 15,005 shares during the period. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.07% of Argan worth $7,860,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AGX. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Argan in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,764,086,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 827,482 shares of the construction company's stock worth $259,267,000 after purchasing an additional 3,068 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Argan by 32.1% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 791,353 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $431,010,000 after purchasing an additional 192,204 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Argan by 2.1% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 610,899 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $332,726,000 after purchasing an additional 12,300 shares during the period. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Argan by 5.9% in the first quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 464,759 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $253,131,000 after purchasing an additional 25,901 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on AGX. Wall Street Zen cut Argan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. Lake Street Capital boosted their price target on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Zacks Research cut shares of Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Argan from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $470.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 5,716 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.64, for a total transaction of $3,313,222.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,533 shares in the company, valued at $1,468,228.12. This trade represents a 69.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joshua Scott Baugher sold 760 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $733.30, for a total transaction of $557,308.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,479 shares of the company's stock, 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 have sold 127,973 shares of company stock worth $87,554,828 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.99% of the company's stock.

Argan Trading Down 8.7%

Shares of AGX opened at $419.92 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $197.00 and a 1 year high of $805.75. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $606.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $582.92. The stock has a market cap of $5.89 billion, a PE ratio of 36.90 and a beta of 0.61.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.93. Argan had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 15.48%.The business had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.60 EPS. Argan's revenue was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 23rd. Argan's payout ratio is currently 17.57%.

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.

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source