Argan, Inc. $AGX Position Raised by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 168.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,560 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,740 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Argan were worth $2,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Argan during the third quarter worth approximately $194,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Argan by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 991 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its position in shares of Argan by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 4,333 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,638,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Argan by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 965 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Argan by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 5,686 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,149,000 after buying an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other Argan news, Director John Jeffrey, Jr. sold 5,716 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were 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. The trade was a 69.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on AGX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Argan from $800.00 to $785.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Argan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Lake Street Capital raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Argan in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $273.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Freedom Broker raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Argan has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.00.

Argan Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE AGX opened at $331.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.56. Argan, Inc. has a twelve month low of $276.28 and a twelve month high of $805.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $406.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $562.65.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The construction company reported $3.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $383.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.53 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 61.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 13.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 22nd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.15%.

Argan Company Profile

Argan, Inc is a holding company that provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, operations and maintenance services for the power generation and renewable energy industries. Its work supports the development, construction and improvement of utility-scale energy infrastructure.

Through its subsidiaries, Argan offers engineering and construction management, project development support, procurement, installation, startup and commissioning services. Its projects have included natural gas-fired power plants, solar and other renewable energy facilities, and related industrial and electrical infrastructure.

Argan’s principal operating businesses include Gemma Power Systems, which provides engineering, procurement and construction services for power generation and renewable energy projects, and Atlantic Projects Company, which provides engineering, project management and construction-related services.