Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 52,027 Shares of Argan, Inc. $AGX

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 119.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95,480 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 52,027 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Argan were worth $52,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Argan by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 775 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Argan by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 541 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Argan by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 147 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Argan by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,564 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $803,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Spirepoint Private Client LLC raised its holdings in Argan by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Argan

In related news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $617.41, for a total value of $3,087,050.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 36,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,532,377.95. The trade was a 12.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Charles Edwin Iv Collins sold 11,068 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $621.61, for a total value of $6,879,979.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 30,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,847,215.20. The trade was a 26.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 151,309 shares of company stock valued at $102,366,655. 6.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Argan Price Performance

Shares of AGX stock opened at $548.54 on Friday. Argan, Inc. has a one year low of $196.90 and a one year high of $805.75. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $679.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $539.85. The company has a market capitalization of $7.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.20 and a beta of 0.57.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The construction company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $290.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.60 EPS. Argan’s quarterly revenue was up 50.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Argan, Inc. will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Argan declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 8th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is 17.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AGX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Lake Street Capital raised their price objective on Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Argan from $399.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.