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

Sapient Capital LLC grew its stake in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,320 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,160 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Argan were worth $14,180,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Argan by 14,436.3% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 329,393 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $72,624,000 after acquiring an additional 327,127 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Argan by 696.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 296,988 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $65,480,000 after purchasing an additional 259,720 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Argan by 1,142.2% in the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 188,665 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,597,000 after purchasing an additional 173,477 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings 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 worth $55,862,000 after purchasing an additional 159,149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Argan by 172.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James W. Quinn sold 13,444 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 49,570 shares in the company, valued at $13,340,278.40. This represents a 21.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.37, for a total transaction of $3,093,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,498,626.22. The trade was a 32.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 74,739 shares of company stock worth $21,160,327. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Argan Stock Performance

NYSE:AGX opened at $324.28 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.20 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $328.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $267.06. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.02 and a 52-week high of $399.30.

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. Argan had a return on equity of 31.38% and a net margin of 13.11%.The company had revenue of $251.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $251.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Argan Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AGX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Argan in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $397.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Glj Research raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $251.00 to $369.00 in a research note on Monday, November 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 target price (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, CJS Securities upgraded Argan to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $355.20.

Argan Company 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.