William Blair Investment Management LLC Sells 8,190 Shares of Argan, Inc. $AGX

William Blair Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 63,361 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 8,190 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Argan were worth $19,852,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Argan during the fourth quarter worth about $5,574,000. Jag Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Argan during the fourth quarter worth about $291,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Argan by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 541 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $170,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB bought a new position in Argan during the fourth quarter worth about $1,473,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Argan by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,454 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $769,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In other news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 11,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $621.61, for a total transaction of $6,879,979.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 30,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,847,215.20. The trade was a 26.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 64,543 shares of company stock worth $39,054,956. Corporate insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Argan Stock Down 0.2%

AGX stock opened at $654.99 on Tuesday. Argan, Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.26 and a 12 month high of $748.50. The firm has a market cap of $9.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.25 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $598.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $447.70.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $262.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $255.32 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 11.44 EPS for the current year.

Argan announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Argan Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AGX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, April 6th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $425.40.

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.