NewEdge Wealth LLC Purchases 892 Shares of Argan, Inc. $AGX

NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 13.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,714 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 892 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Argan were worth $2,417,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust bought a new position in Argan during the 3rd quarter worth $14,138,000. Thames Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Argan during the 3rd quarter worth $11,175,000. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Argan during the third quarter worth approximately $971,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Argan by 125.3% during the third quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,505 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,377,000 after purchasing an additional 6,955 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Argan during the third quarter worth approximately $35,629,000. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Argan Stock Performance

NYSE AGX opened at $681.28 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $557.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $423.80. The stock has a market cap of $9.50 billion, a PE ratio of 69.95 and a beta of 0.61. Argan, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $171.59 and a fifty-two week high of $742.30.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The construction company reported $3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $1.48. The company had revenue of $262.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $255.32 million. Argan had a return on equity of 33.62% and a net margin of 14.59%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Argan, Inc. will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Argan Dividend Announcement

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

Argan announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 8th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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. Zacks Research raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Argan to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $425.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John Ronald Jr. Jeffrey sold 2,698 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $664.84, for a total value of $1,793,738.32. Following the sale, the director owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,329,680. The trade was a 57.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 11,068 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was 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 directly owned 30,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,847,215.20. This represents a 26.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 64,543 shares of company stock valued at $39,054,956 over the last quarter. 6.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.