IKE Capital LLC Makes New $1.48 Million Investment in Argan, Inc. $AGX

IKE Capital LLC bought a new position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 1,855 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,481,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AGX. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Argan during the second quarter worth $1,764,086,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Argan by 32.1% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 791,353 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $431,010,000 after buying an additional 192,204 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Argan by 2.1% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 610,899 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $332,726,000 after acquiring an additional 12,300 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its position in shares of Argan by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 464,759 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $253,131,000 after purchasing an additional 25,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Argan by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 400,379 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $125,462,000 after acquiring an additional 80,415 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Argan Trading Up 1.1%

AGX stock traded up $4.29 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $393.03. 370,332 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 387,419. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $526.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $583.47. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $235.60 and a 52-week high of $805.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.09, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.57.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The construction company reported $3.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $1.12. Argan had a net margin of 15.09% and a return on equity of 38.51%. The firm had revenue of $383.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $300.53 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 61.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Argan, Inc. will post 13.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 22nd. This is an increase from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Argan news, Director John Jeffrey, Jr. sold 5,716 shares of Argan stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.64, for a total value of $3,313,222.24. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 20,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $760.43, for a total transaction of $15,208,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 40,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,159,379.68. This trade represents a 32.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,716 shares of company stock valued at $40,297,322. 2.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AGX. Freedom Broker raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Zacks Research upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Argan from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Piper Sandler began coverage on Argan in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $273.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $437.50.

Argan Company Profile

Argan, Inc is an engineering, procurement and construction company that provides services to the power generation and energy infrastructure industries. The company supports the development, construction, commissioning and maintenance of power facilities, including natural gas-fired power plants, renewable energy projects and energy storage installations.

Argan primarily operates through subsidiaries including Gemma Power Systems, which provides engineering, project management and construction services for power generation projects; The Roberts Company, which performs industrial fabrication, equipment installation and field services; and Atlantic Projects Company, which provides engineering and construction services for power and industrial facilities.