2,025 Shares in Argan, Inc. $AGX Purchased by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System acquired a new position in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,025 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,103,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AGX. M&T Bank Corp bought a new position in Argan during the 4th quarter worth $478,000. Covenant Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter valued at $2,748,000. Thames Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Argan by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC now owns 51,794 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $16,228,000 after acquiring an additional 10,411 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the 4th quarter worth $5,574,000. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the 1st quarter worth $1,728,000. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of Argan stock opened at $546.72 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.90 and a fifty-two week high of $805.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.04 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $682.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $539.79.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.93. Argan had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The firm had revenue of $290.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $256.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Argan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Argan’s payout ratio is currently 17.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 5,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $617.41, for a total transaction of $3,087,050.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 36,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,532,377.95. This trade represents a 12.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $643.46, for a total value of $32,173,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 90,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,539,416.96. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 151,309 shares of company stock worth $102,366,655. Company insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Lake Street Capital raised their target price on shares of Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Argan currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $470.40.

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.