Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Buys New Shares in Argan, Inc. $AGX

by · The Cerbat Gem

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX – Free Report) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 1,204 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Argan by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 7,714 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,417,000 after acquiring an additional 892 shares during the period. Maxi Investments CY Ltd bought a new position in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,504,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter valued at about $238,000. Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter valued at about $279,000. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Argan in the 4th quarter valued at about $434,000. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Argan news, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,698 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $664.84, for a total value of $1,793,738.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,329,680. The trade was a 57.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 3,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 6,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,302,380.92. This trade represents a 30.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 64,543 shares of company stock worth $39,054,956. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Argan Stock Performance

NYSE AGX opened at $719.34 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $574.50 and a 200-day moving average of $433.03. The stock has a market cap of $10.03 billion, a PE ratio of 73.85 and a beta of 0.61. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $180.63 and a 52-week high of $748.50.

Argan (NYSE:AGX – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $255.32 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 11.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Argan announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 8th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Argan Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AGX shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Lake Street Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Argan from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $425.40.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on AGX

Argan Company Profile

(Free Report)

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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