Victory Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Argan, Inc. by 106.2%, acquiring an additional 18,609 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to 36,124 shares valued at $4.74 million.
• Analysts have varying outlooks on Argan, with recommendations including a "neutral" rating from JPMorgan and a "buy" rating from Lake Street Capital, resulting in an average target price of $202.00.
• Argan recently reported earnings of $1.60 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, and has announced a $0.375 quarterly dividend for investors of record on July 23rd, reflecting a yield of 0.63%.

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX - Free Report) by 106.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,124 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,609 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.26% of Argan worth $4,738,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cardinal Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Argan by 0.4% in the first quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 31,086 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $4,078,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Argan by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the construction company's stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Argan by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 4,042 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $545,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Argan by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,756 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,067,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in Argan by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 11,100 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,521,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of AGX traded up $3.09 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $241.24. The stock had a trading volume of 446,083 shares, compared to its average volume of 406,975. The firm has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.83 and a beta of 0.54. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $214.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.11. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $63.53 and a 12-month high of $246.60.

Argan (NYSE:AGX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 4th. The construction company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.51. Argan had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 29.61%. The business had revenue of $193.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.58 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. Argan's payout ratio is 21.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on AGX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, July 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. Kepler Capital Markets cut shares of Argan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Lake Street Capital boosted their price target on Argan from $150.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $202.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 2,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.56, for a total transaction of $469,120.00. Following the sale, the director owned 31,428 shares in the company, valued at $7,371,751.68. This trade represents a 5.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 7,604 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.03, for a total transaction of $1,688,316.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 50,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,242,711.08. This trade represents a 13.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 85,839 shares of company stock valued at $18,452,127. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

Argan Profile

Argan, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, maintenance, project development, and technical consulting services to the power generation market. The company operates through Power Services, Industrial Services, and Telecom Services segments. The Power Services segment offers engineering, procurement, and construction, as well as designing, building, and commissioning of large-scale energy projects to the owners of alternative energy facilities, such as biomass plants, wind farms, and solar fields; and design, construction, project management, start-up, and operation services for projects with approximately 18 gigawatts of power-generating capacity.