Squarepoint Ops LLC Invests $3.50 Million in Argan, Inc. $AGX

Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 15,887 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,503,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned about 0.12% of Argan at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGX. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Argan during the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of Argan during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Argan by 1,116.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Argan in the first quarter worth $109,000. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury purchased a new position in Argan during the second quarter worth $129,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AGX shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group set a $315.00 price target on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, October 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Lake Street Capital lowered Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $260.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, CJS Securities upgraded Argan to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $355.20.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of AGX stock opened at $320.66 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.77 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $322.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $261.60. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $101.02 and a one year high of $399.30.

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

Argan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Thursday, January 22nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Peter W. Getsinger sold 6,493 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.39, for a total value of $1,911,474.27. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 9,897 shares in the company, valued at $2,913,577.83. The trade was a 39.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James W. Quinn sold 13,444 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.12, for a total transaction of $3,618,049.28. Following the transaction, the director owned 49,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,340,278.40. The trade was a 21.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 105,186 shares of company stock valued at $29,103,826. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

About Argan

Argan, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, maintenance, project development, and technical consulting services to the power generation market. The company operates through Power Services, Industrial Services, and Telecom Services segments. The Power Services segment offers engineering, procurement, and construction, as well as designing, building, and commissioning of large-scale energy projects to the owners of alternative energy facilities, such as biomass plants, wind farms, and solar fields; and design, construction, project management, start-up, and operation services for projects with approximately 18 gigawatts of power-generating capacity.