Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 4,954 Shares of Argan, Inc. $AGX

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 397,962 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,954 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Argan were worth $216,728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Argan during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Argan during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Argan during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Argan in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in shares of Argan by 2,950.0% in the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman William F. Griffin, Jr. sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $760.43, for a total transaction of $15,208,600.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 40,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,159,379.68. This represents a 32.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO David Hibbert Watson sold 1,880 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $707.35, for a total value of $1,329,818.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,297,536.75. This represents a 4.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 134,105 shares of company stock valued at $91,724,081 in the last 90 days. 2.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Argan Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of Argan stock opened at $601.55 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.86 and a beta of 0.57. Argan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $197.00 and a 12-month high of $805.75. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $671.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $549.49.

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

Argan declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 8th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Argan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be 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 is Thursday, July 23rd. Argan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AGX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Argan in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Argan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Argan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Lake Street Capital raised their target price on Argan from $375.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $470.40.

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.