Sapient Capital LLC Has $14.18 Million Holdings in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Sapient Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 52,320 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 3,160 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC owned about 0.38% of Argan worth $14,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Argan in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $71,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Argan by 1,116.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Argan during the first quarter valued at approximately $109,000. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury acquired a new position in Argan during the second quarter valued at approximately $129,000. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James W. Quinn sold 13,444 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.12, for a total value of $3,618,049.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 49,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,340,278.40. This represents a 21.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 11,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.73, for a total transaction of $3,242,363.46. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 38,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,668,864.82. The trade was a 23.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 74,739 shares of company stock valued at $21,160,327 in the last ninety days. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Argan Stock Performance

Shares of AGX opened at $324.28 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $328.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $267.06. Argan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.02 and a 52 week high of $399.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.20 and a beta of 0.60.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $251.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $251.50 million. Argan had a return on equity of 31.38% and a net margin of 13.11%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share.

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 22nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Argan’s payout ratio is currently 23.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on AGX shares. UBS Group set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, October 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Argan in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $397.00 price target for the company. Glj Research raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $251.00 to $369.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $355.20.

About Argan

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.