Argan, Inc. $AGX Shares Purchased by WCM Investment Management LLC

WCM Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 169.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 200,485 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 126,103 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Argan were worth $54,345,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Argan by 201.8% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 673 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $180,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Argan in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,195,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Argan by 84.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 28,664 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,741,000 after purchasing an additional 13,109 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans acquired a new position in Argan in the 3rd quarter worth about $426,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its position in Argan by 1.7% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 24,833 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,706,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of AGX opened at $353.48 on Tuesday. Argan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.02 and a 52-week high of $400.00. The stock has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a PE ratio of 41.63 and a beta of 0.63. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $341.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.39.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $251.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $251.50 million. Argan had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 31.38%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share.

Argan Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Argan news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 11,044 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.15, for a total value of $4,187,332.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 49,939 shares in the company, valued at $18,934,371.85. This represents a 18.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 19,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.70, for a total value of $7,347,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,134,246.90. This trade represents a 42.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,915 shares of company stock valued at $20,182,794. Insiders own 6.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group set a $315.00 price objective on Argan in a research report on Monday, October 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price target (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Argan in a report on Monday, December 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Argan in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $397.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Argan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Lake Street Capital cut shares of Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $355.20.

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.