TD Asset Management Inc Increases Position in Argan, Inc. $AGX

TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 47.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 194,744 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 62,811 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Argan were worth $61,017,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AGX. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Argan by 69.8% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 559,466 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $151,084,000 after purchasing an additional 230,073 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Argan by 168.9% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 253,365 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $55,862,000 after purchasing an additional 159,149 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Argan by 172.5% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 229,893 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $50,687,000 after purchasing an additional 145,516 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Argan in the third quarter worth about $34,647,000. Finally, Divisadero Street Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Argan in the third quarter worth about $33,900,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Argan stock opened at $695.56 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.82 and a twelve month high of $779.00. The company has a market cap of $9.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.12 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50 day moving average is $636.32 and its 200 day moving average is $468.26.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.97. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 37.94%. The business had revenue of $290.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.03 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Argan, Inc. will post 11.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Argan declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 8th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were given 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Argan news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $628.36, for a total value of $1,885,080.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,302,380.92. This trade represents a 30.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 11,068 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $621.61, for a total transaction of $6,879,979.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 30,320 shares in the company, valued at $18,847,215.20. The trade was a 26.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 64,543 shares of company stock valued at $39,054,956. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, April 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Lake Street Capital upped their target price on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $470.40.

Argan News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Argan this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Argan beat expectations with first-quarter earnings of $3.24 per share versus $2.27 expected, while revenue of $290.95 million also topped estimates. Revenue rose 50.2% year over year, highlighting continued strength in the company’s power-project construction business. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management said Argan expects to add new projects over the next 10 to 18 months, reinforcing investor confidence in its backlog-driven growth outlook. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The board increased the share repurchase authorization to $200 million, which can support earnings per share and signals confidence in the company’s cash generation. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary also pointed to a strong power-project backlog and record quarterly results, suggesting the company is benefiting from demand tied to AI/data-center power needs and broader electrification trends. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several earnings-call transcripts and presentation posts largely reiterate the same quarterly results and management commentary, adding context but not materially changing the investment story. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Market coverage also notes the stock had already rallied ahead of earnings, so part of the move may reflect investors positioning for strong results and shareholder returns. Article Title

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.