3,350 Shares in Argan, Inc. $AGX Acquired by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky purchased a new stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,350 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,824,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new position in Argan during the fourth quarter worth $137,503,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Argan by 168.9% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 253,365 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $55,862,000 after purchasing an additional 159,149 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Argan by 172.5% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Argan in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,647,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Argan by 320.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 153,115 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,349,000 after purchasing an additional 116,657 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Argan Trading Down 1.4%

AGX opened at $612.17 on Thursday. Argan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.90 and a 1-year high of $805.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.58 billion, a PE ratio of 53.79 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $685.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $538.22.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.93. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The business had revenue of $290.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $256.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. Argan’s revenue was up 50.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 EPS for the current year.

Argan announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 8th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 23rd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Argan news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $699.00, for a total transaction of $1,398,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,411,120. This represents a 29.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joshua Scott Baugher sold 760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $733.30, for a total transaction of $557,308.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,084,550.70. This trade represents a 33.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 170,619 shares of company stock worth $113,993,399. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on AGX shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Lake Street Capital lifted their target price on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $470.40.

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.